0V 


JAMES  HSK,  JB.. 


A  FULL  AND  ACCUEATE  NAEEATIVE  OF  HIS 

CAEEEB,  HIS  GEEAT  ENTEBPEISES, 

AND   HIS  ASSASSINATION. 


MARSHALL  P.  STAFFORD. 


PUBLISHED    BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


YOBK: 
POLHEMUS  &  PEAESON,  PRINTEKS,  114  FULTON  STEEET, 

1872.  " 


036*0  A  <r>i 


Entered  «Kxsotding  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  y«wr  1*71,  by 

MARSHALL  P.  STAFFORD, 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


Itll.HMAiH 

j     rt     V    4-i     CD   _O   13     _.     W  CM     00  , 

CS^i-H*^     H  «B     **     fl  ^.^  *M 


CT 

.27-5 
V5C 


A.   LIFE   OF 

JAMES    FISK,    JR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHILDHOOD     AXD     SCHOOL-DATS HIS     EAELY     HOXX A     TEK- 

MOXT  PEDDLEE — .HIS  MUST  SENSATION. 

James  risk,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Po\mal,  near  the  historic 
town  of  Bennington,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Vermont, 
April  1st,  1 835.  At  the  time  of  his  birth  his  father  peddled 
from  this  point  as  a  centre,  visiting  the  adjacent  country 
in  all  directions  with  one  of  those  carts  which  were  much 
more  frequent  before  the  revolutions  caused  by  railroads 
than  they  now  are,  being  a  small  variety  store  upon  wheels, 
and  carrying  nearly  everything  that  a  rural  community  ordi- 
narily puchased,  from  a  silk  dress  to  a  jewsharp.  While  the 
son  was  still  a  small  child  the  father  moved  across  to  the 
east  side  of  the  Green  Mountains,  and  established  the  base 
of  his  operations  at  Brattleboro,  in  the  southeastern  corner 
of  the  State,  on  the  Connecticut  River.  It  was  here  in  one 


4  HIS    EARLY    HOME. 

of  the  loveliest  spots  in  the  "  Switzerland  of  America,"  in 
the  heart  of  the  Green  Mountains,  in  the  midst  of  scenery 
generally  supposed  to  foster  and  develop  some  of  the  finest 
traits  of  character,  that  passed  the  childhood  and  youth  of 
the  man  whose  career  is  the  greatest  wonder  as  well  as 
one  of  the  most  significant  commentaries  of  the  times. 
Here,  in  the  little  "  deestrict "  school,  he  received  all  of  the 
very  limited  education  he  could  be  induced  to  take  in ; 
here  still  live  many  of  the  friends  and  companions  of  his 
young  days,  who  have  watched  his  career  with  the  greatest 
wonder  and  amazement  and  now  talk  of  it  with  deepest 
'  interest ;  from  here  he  has  taken  not  a  few  of  the  play- 
fellows and  acquaintances  of  his  early  life  to  fill  places  of 
various  kinds  that  have  since  been  at  his  disposal ;  here 
he  grew  up  to  manhood,  was  married,  and  first  entered 
into  business  on  his  own  account ;  and  here  he  first  dis- 
played in  the  same  marked  way,  though  on  a  smaller 
stage,  the  same  striking  traits  which  make  him  so  con- 
spicuous now,  and  exhibited  abilities  so  marked  as  to  lead 
to  his  being  called  to  other  and  larger  spheres  of  action. 

Should  you  enter  the  Revere  House  at  Brattleboro  and 
casually  remark  to  the  affable  clerk,  "  I  believe  this  is  the 
town  that  has  the  honor  of  having  produced  Jim  Fisk  ?" 
he  will  answer  you,  "  Yes,  this  is  the  very  house  where  he 
used  to  live.  His  father  built  it,  and  sometimes  used  to 
run  it  himself  when  a  satisfactory  tenant  could  not  be 
found.  Jim  himself  used  to  wait  on  table  in  that  room 
right  in  there,"  pointing  to  a  room  beside  the  office,  now 


BOUNISCENCES.  5 

used  as  the  general  room  for  reading,  -writing,  private 
conversation,  etc.  You  will  at  once  perceive  that  you  have 
touched  upon  a  subject  in  which  your  interlocutor  takes 
much  interest,  if  net  pride,  and  about  which  he  delights 
to  talk.  He  will  lead  the  way  to  the  room  previously  des- 
ignated as  the  scene  of  Jim's  first  services  to  the  public  in 
the  capacity  of  garcon,  the  character  in  which  he  vented 
his  first  puns  and  Jew  cTesprits,  thereby  rendering  himself 
no  small  favorite  with  the  guests.  Your  attention  will 
here  be  called  to  one  of  the  walls  of  the  room,  now  become 
a  "  Neptunian  wall "  or  a  kind  of  "  Poets'  Corner,"  being 
set  apart  for  a  collection  of  memorials  and  souvenirs  of 
its  hero,  consisting  "of  the  cartoons  and  caricatures  which 
have  appeared  from  time  to  time  illustrative  of  the  various 
episodes  of  his  career — the  whole  forming  a  not  uninter- 
esting epic,  told  in  rough  legendary  art  of  the  pre-Raph- 
aelite  type  and  making  a  quite  unique  adornment  But 
there  is  one  piece  in  the  collection,  one  chapter  in  the  story 
thus  told,  that  would  now  undoubtedly  have  for  the  world 
at  large  a  much  greater  interest  than  all  the  rest.  It  is 
the  smallest  and  oldest  of  the  collection.  It  is  of  Mr. 
Fisk's  own  design  and  was  executed  at  his  own  order  and 
expense  while  as  yet  he  had  no  dreams  of  the  life  that 
awaited  him  beyond  the  hills  or  of  the  peculiar  interest 
that  would  one  day  flow  back  from  him  and  hover 
arouiid  this  earliest  embodiment  of  his  artistic  and  aesthe- 
tic sense.  It  is  one  of  the  original  business  cards  with, 
which  he  brought  himself  to  the  notice  of  the  public  in 


HIS  FAMILT. 

his  grand  peddling  enterprise.  The  frontispiece  cut  ie  a 
fac-sknile. 

It  is  only  quite  recently  that  this  house  ceased  to  bo  the 
home  of  the  family,  they  having  always  retained  room& 
here  and  made  it  their  headquarters  ever  since  it  was  built 
by  the  senior  Fisk.  But  they  arc  all  gone  from  it  nowr 
the  settlement  of  the  two  children  elsewhere  having  broken 
up  the  family  nucleus,  leaving  only  its  traditions  to  cluster 
about  the  homestead.  The  father  was  for  a  timo  con- 
cerned in  some  of  the  speculative  schemes  of  the  son,  but 
ill  health  and-  the  increasing  weight  of  years  having  in- 
capacitated him  for  the  cares  of  business,  he  now  lives 
a  life  of  retired  leisure  upon  tho  competence  which  h& 
amassed  during  his  many  years  of  business.  Mr.  Fisk'a 
own  mother  died  when  he  was  a  small  child.  Hi& 
father  soon  married  a  seeoad  wife,  a  Brattleboro  lady 
who  was  always  much  esteemed  in  the  village  where- 
all  her  life  has  passed.  His  half  sister  was  a  very 
pretty  -and  pleasing  young  lady,  much  liked  and  highly 
regarded  by  all  who  knew  her  down  to  tho  hour  she- 
was  married  and  left  her  native  village. 

The  old  residents  of  tho  place,  the  eye-witnesses  of  hia 
childhood's  days  as  they  flowed  quietly  away,  who  can 
still  vividly  recall  his  boyhood,  speak  of  James  as  having 
always  been  a  pleasant,  kind-hearted  boy,  with  no  bad 
traits,  a  general  favorite,  always  wide-awake  and  lively, 
boiling  over  with  animal  spirits  and  fun,  "  rather  rattle- 
headed and  always  full  of  his  traps,"  always  on  hand 


*  ON   THE    PEDDLEK'8   CART.  7 

conspicuous  if  anything  was  going  on,  and  so  well  known 
for  being  quick-witted  and  sharp  at  repartee,  that  his 
advent  in  any  circle  was  ever  a  signed  for  getting  the 
laughing  apparatus  ready  for  use. 

Having  no  inclination  to  books  or  school,  but  being  im- 
patient to  enter  the  arena  of  active  life  and  commence  his 
battle  with  the  world,  ho  began  while  yet  a  boy  to  accom- 
pany his  father  iu  his  peddling  trips.  This  life  had  a  great 
charm  for  him  then,  suiting  his  disposition  and  inclination 
exactly,  and  ho  at  once  displayed  such  a  natural  aptitude 
for  it  that  his  father  soon  consented  to  let  him  have  a  cart 
by  himself  and  make  trips  alone  over  some  of  their  routes. 
A  very  few  of  these  trips  sufficed  to  show  the  son  the 
better  peddler  of  the  two.  By  this  division  of  their  labor, 
acting  upon  separate  lines,  the  amount  of  their  sales  was 
greatly  increased,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  father 
gave  the  son  an  interest  in  the  business!  He  then  imme- 
diately began  to  manifest  the  traits  which  have  been  so 
striking  throughout  his  career  and  make  him  so  conspicuous 
at  the  present  time  The  carts  were  more  gaudily  painted, 
more  spirited  horses  were  driven  and  more  showy  harnesses 
were  used.  But  the  conservative  nature  and  old-fashioned 
notions  of  the  father  repressed  these  inclinations  and 
greatly  hampered  their  full  play.  It  was  not  long  before 
their  ideas  as  to  the  proper  manner  of  conducting  their 
business  were  radically  different  and  inharmonious.  The 
son  favored  great  innovations  and  an  extension  of  their 
operations,  while  the  father  was  naturally  contented  with 


8  .      IK    BUSINESS    FOB    HIMSELF. 

things  as  they  were  and  regarded  the  schemes  of  James 
as  boyish,  wild  and  all  nonsense.  Dissatisfied  with  this 
state  of  things  and  impatient  of  the  restraint  which  his 
father  exercised  over  his  burning  ambition  and  projects, 
James,  Jr.,  as  the  easiest  remedy  for  all  his  difficulties  and 
as  the  best  and  most  effective  way  of  settling  all  their  dif- 
ferences, boldly  proposed  to  buy  out  his  father's  interest 
in  the  business,  boss  it  himself  with  undivided  authority 
and  conduct  it  wholly  in  accordance  with  his  own  ideas. 
Satisfactory  terms  were  offered,  a  bargain  was  struck  on 
the  spot,  Fisk  senior  came  down  from  the  cart  as  a  part- 
ner and  remounted  it  as  his  son's  hired  man  at  a  very 
liberal  salary.  Instantly  the  whole  appearance  and  or- 
ganization of  things  was  changed  as  if  by  magic.  The 

• 
sole  proprietor  now  determined  to  extend  his  operations^ 

employ  several  men  and  send  them  out  with  carts  as 
branches  of  his  establishment,  and  reduce  the  business 
to  a  regular  organized  system.  Two  new  four-horse 
carts,  the  most  elegant  that  could  be  procured,  one  for 
himself  and  the  other  for  his  father,  replaced  those  they 
had  been  using.  Eight  horses,  the  most  showy  and 
spirited  that  could  be  obtained  in  the  region  famed  for 
the  finest  " Blackhawks "  and  "Morgans,"  were  secured 
for  them  j  and  harnesses  of  the  finest  material  with  the 
most  elegant  and  glittering  mountings  were  made  to 
order  to  be  in  keeping  and  complete  the  turnout.  The 
carts  used  by  his  subordinates,  though  of  course  much 
•mailer  and  less  pretending  than  these  two  grand  estab- 


THE   NATIVES   DAZZLED.  9 

lishments,  were  yet  all  after  tlie  same  neat  style,  muck 
more  elegant  than  those  ordinarily  used  by  peddlers  and 
such  as  to  give  a  proper  reflection  of  the  grandeur  of 
the  resplendent  central  orb. 

Whea  everything  was  ready  for  the  first  campaign 
under  the  new  regime  and  all  were  drawn  up  together 
ready  to  start  at  the  word  of  command,  the  quiet 
villagers  of  Brattleboro,  —  those  who  had  ever  been 
the  playmates  of  the  youthful  commander,  or  given 
him  a  bloody  nose  in  boyhood's  battles ;  those  who  had 
sat  round  the  hotel  fire  with  him  many  a  winter 
evening  whittling  sticks  and  getting  off  gibes ;  his  first 
little  snub-nosed  loves  with  whom  he  had  sat  on  the 
front  seat  in  the  little  schoolhouse  and  played  puzzles 
with  one  eye  on  the  teacher  and  to  whom  he  had  written 
and  slyly  passed  along  many  such  communications  as, 
"Sal  du  me  this  er  sum,  look  out  not  ter  let  ole  specs 
kech  yew  duin  it  ur'he  wil  swot  my  ers  J,  F,  Jr,  p  s  i  luv 
yew  an  ma  i  go  hum  with  yew  arfter  skool  ter  nite ;  "  those 
who  had  always  spelt  him  down  to  the  foot  of  his  class  on 
such  words  as  peddler,  cart,  honor,  modesty,  shame,  and 
judge,  which  he  always  spelt  pedlur,  kart,  onur,  mudesty, 
sham  and  jug  ;  those  who  had  seen  him  tumble  down  and 
bump  his  nose  in  his  first  efforts  to  stand  alone  and  walk ; 
the  young  and  the  old— all  crowded  round  in  their  garb  of 
many  cuts  and  colors,  with  eyes  and  mouth  agape  in  min- 
gled admiration  and  amazement  and  feeling  not  a  little 
pride  that  the  very  neatest  thing  they  had  ever  seen  before, 


10  THX   FIEST    SEXSATIOJT. 

even  in  the  grand  procession  of  Dan  Rico's  circus  entering 
the  village  with  the  great  brass  band  in  a  gorgeous  chariot 
at  the  head,  was  now  so  completely  eclipsed  by  their  own 
modest  little  town.  "When  the  eyes  of  his  fellow  towns- 
people had  gloated  and  been  dazzled  by  a  minute  inspec- 
tion of  every  detail  and  ho  had  drank  sufficiently  deep 
of  the  glory  of  the  occasion,  tho  great  lion  of  the  hour 
mounted  his  grand  cart,  drew  up  the  reins  over  his  four 
nervous  steeds,  brought  a  graceful  flourish  of  his  long  whip 
to  an  end  .in  a  loud  snap  and  dashed  out  of  the  village  of 
quaint  beauty  followed  by  his  glittering  retinue.  James 
Fist,  Jr.,  had  created  the  first  of  his  long  series  of  grand 
sensations.  How  vast  have  been  the  contributions  levied 
from  many  fields  to  feed  the  ever-growing  flame  lighted  by 
that  early  scene  in  his  village  home,  the  world  knows  but 
too  well ;  but  in  all  the  many  grand  tableaux  of  which  he 
has  been  the  central  figure — whether  as  admiral,  resplen- 
dent in  gold  lace  ;  as  colonel,  the  centre  of  a  sunset  pageant 
at  Long  Branch,  or  astride  his  mettlesome  charger  leading 
his  regiment  of  braves  up  Broadway ;  or  as  impressariq  in 
his  private  box  or  standing  at  the  head  of  the  grand  en- 
trance staircase  in  his  marble  palace  as  the  throng  flow  in 
and  out  on  successful  nights  in  his  theatre,  the  largest  and 
most  brilliantly  gilded  in  America — it  is  doubtful  if  he  has 
over  tingled  in  every  tiniest  nerve  with  such  a  keen  relish 
of  gratified  pride  and  self-importance  as  on  that  bright 
morning  when  those  whom  he  had  always  known  gather- 
ed around  him  in  their  homely  attire — perhaps  the  most 


UWFAVOBABLB    PKEDICTIOS8.  11 

\ 

respectable,  honest  and  worthy  company  he  has  ever 
drawn  together.  The  keen  and  delicious  edge  of  the  first 
enjoyment  was  more  than  sufficient  to  counterbalance  the 
grander  proportions  of  each  succeeding  repetition,  and, 
moreover,  there  was  a  genuineness  and  sincerity  in  that 
first  demonstration,  while  a  mawkish  curiosity  and  a  smile 
of  contempt  have  been  the  chief  ingredients  in  all  its  suc- 
cessors, and  no  one  knows  better  than  Mr.  Fisk  how  to 
appreciate  this  difference,  notwithstanding  that  in  the 
absence  of  the  genuine  he  glories  in  the  spurious. 

When  the  pageant  had  passed  away  and  the  gathering 
had  scattered  to  their  work  and  to  talk  over  the  great 
event,  not  a  few  of  the  staid  old  rustic  spirits  shook  their 
heads  dubiously,  sagely  predicting  a  disastrous  end  to 
such  extravagance  and  giddiness, .  and  slept  the  more 
soundly  that  night  from  the  consciousness  that  they  were 
not  the  young  man's  creditors,  nor  had  their  names  on  the 
back  of  any  of  his  I  0  IPs.  But  the  subjects  of  these 
gloomy  forebodings  and  misgivings  saw  not  the  clear 
vision  and  perfect  confidence  of  the  guiding  spirit,  which 
is  the  main  element  in  every  enterprise,  nor  foresaw  the 
favorable  consequence  of  conducting  the  business  with  ad- 
mirable organization  and  system. 

Mr.  Fisk  gave  to  each  of  his  subordinates  explicit  di- 
rections as  to  the  road  to  be  followed  for  a  week,  and  the 
route  for  each  was  laid  out  so  that  they  would  all  come 
together  and  meet  their  commander  every  Saturday  after- 
noon. Each  then  gave  an  account  of  his  stewardship  for 


12  PEDDLING    SYSTSMATIZMX 

the  week,  and  made  known  his  wants  in  the  way  of  new 
stock,  etc.  Some  large  town  on  the  railroad,  to  which 
new  goods  cottld  be  ordered  in  advance  to  meet  them  from 
market,  was  always  selected  for  the  weekly  rendezvous. 
The  time  from  Saturday  to  Monday  was  devoted  to  bal- 
ancing accounts,  refurnishing  supplies,  mapping  out  the 
courses  and  giving  directions  for  the  ensuing  week.  The 
smaller  carts  were  sent  out  as  skirmishers  on  either  side  to 
visit  the  more  secluded  regions  and  smaller  villages,  {he 
main  lines  of  travel  and  larger  towns  being  reserved  for 
the  visitations  of  the  two  larger  and  more  imposing  es- 
tablishments. The  amount  of  business  done  and  the  ac- 
count sales  for  each  week  under  this  plan  of  operations 
were  many  times  as  large  as  those  of  an  ordinary  country 
merchant.  Indeed,  many  of  the  latter  class  of  tradesmen 
bought  much  of  their  stock  of  Mr.  Fisk  instead  of  going 
or  sending  to  market  themselves,  so  that  he  was  in  reality, 
and  to  no  small  extent,  what  his  card  announced — a 
"jobber  "  in  the  trade. 

When  on  the  road  in  these  trips  he  always  drove  in  a 
dashing  style  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  an  hour  and  never 
failed  to  attract  everybody's  attention.  Men  working  in 
the  field  rested  from  their  toil  to  watch  him  as  he  passed ; 
the  inmates  of  every  house  ran  to  the  windows  to  catch  a 
sight  of  the  grand  turnout  and  held  up  their  babies  to 
look  and  .cease  crying.  As  he  came  flying  into  a  village 
and  drew  up  at  a  store  or  tavern,  all  the  children  gathered 
round  at  once  to  gaze  in  admiration — every  boy  resolving 


OH    THE    BOAD.  13 

that  when  he  grew  up  to  be  a  man  he  would  have  just 
such  a  cart  and  go  peddling,  every  girl  feeling  sad  at  the 
misfortune  which  shut  her  out  from  all  the  pleasure  of  the 
same  ambition  and  resolve  and  left  her  only  the  cold  com- 
fort of  vowing  it  should  be  a  man  who  looked  and  did 
just  like  that  she  would  have  for  her  husband.  Country 
lasses  peered  coyly  through  the  shutters  or  from  behind 
the  curtains,  wondering  if  he  would  call  at  their  house, 
their  innocent  hearts-  rising  to  the  mouth  and  falling 
back  again  with  the  alternations  of  increasing  prospect 
or  parting  hope.  The  women  admired,  men  envied 
and  were  deferential,  and  he  in  turn  was  gracious 
and  affable,  always  jocose,  scattering  pennies  and  candy 
among  the  children,  bewitching  smiles  among  the  sweet- 
sixteens,  and  consternation  among  their  mammas.  In  a 
word,  he  was  a  great  gun  generally— the  biggest  gun  ever 
seen  in  the  towns  he  visited.  And  now  that  he  is  so  fa- 
mous and  his  early  career  is  known  to  thousands  by 
hearsay  quite  as  well  as  by  those  who  witnessed  it,  it  is 
surprising  how  many  there  are  in  every  town  within  a 
hundred  miles  of  which  he  ever  travelled  in  those  days 
who  have  a  most  vivid  remembrance  and  give  the  most 
minute  description  of  just  how  he  looked  and  the  appear- 
ance and  sensation  he  used  to  make  when  he  drove  by  on 
their  road,  though  he  never  set  foot  in  the  town. 

It  is  the  fashion  with  certain  journalists  to  refer  to  this 
period  of  Mr.  Fisk's  life  in  a  sneering  tone,  as  though  it 
implied  disgrace  or  discredit,  and  to  indulge  little  flings 


14  XmWO&XHY   SNEERS. 

about  "peddling  shirt  buttons,"  etc.  The  sneer  is  a  mean 
and  unwarranted  one,  and  destroys  the  force  of  whatever 
is  said  in  connection  with  it  by  disclosing  an  unworthy 
animus  and  a  disinclination  to  "give  even, the  devil  his 
due."  There  may  have  been  some  dealings  on  a  petty 
scale  in  his  business  at  this  time,  as  there  are  in  the  deal- 
ings of  nearly  every  tradesman  in  the  world,  not  except- 
ing those  whose  palatial  stores  cover  acres  of  ground,  em- 
ploy armies  of  clerks,  and  constitute  an  object  of  pride  ,to 
the  largest  city  on  the  continent,  as  being  without  an 
equal  in  the  world.  There  is  more  petty  dealing  in  the 
business  of  nineteen  out  of  every  twenty  tradesmen  in 
the  world  than  there  was  in  Mr.  Fisk's  peddling  business, 
so  the  fling  cast  at  him  applies  with  greater  force  to  them 
and  should  be  used  only  when  it  is  intended  to  express 
contempt  for  all  tradesmen,  as  a  class — a  thing  which  the 
said  journalists  would  not  dare  to  do.  The  influence  of 
such  a  training  upon  the  mental,  moral  and  social  traits  is 
undoubtedly  very  different  from  that  exerted  by  a  college 
course  and  the  liberal  professions ;  but  if  this  be  a  iault 
or  just  cause  for  a  sneer,  it  applies  to  the  vast  majority  of 
men — including  many  great  journalists  as  well ;  and  cer- 
tain it  is  that  if  all  the  little  affairs  in  the  past  private 
life  of  certain  exceedingly  snobbish  "  renegade  English- 
men, "  who  seem  to  take  most  delight  in  these  flings,  and 
think  there  is  groat  force  and  virtue  in  them,  were  laid 
bare  to  the  public  they  would  be  much  more  obnoxious  • 
to  sneers  and  have  much  greater  cause  for  mortification 


HIS    EAELT    RECORD.  15 

than  has  Mr.  Fisk  for  anything  in  his  Brattleboro  record. 
There  is  no  other  period  of  his  career  so  free  from  taint, 
so  much  to  his  credit.  He  drove  the  best  bargain  he 
could,  as  do  all  tradesmen,  for  that  is  their  business ;  but 
no  charge  of  unfair  dealing  was  ever  made  against  him 
at  this  time.  It  is  but  fair  to  accept  the  opinion  enter- 
tained of  a  man  by  those  with  whom  he  has  lived  and 
dealt  and  who  know  him  most  intimately ;  and  when  Mr. 
Fisk  left  Brattleboro  no  damaging  reputation  or  gossip 
attached  to  his  name  but  he  loft  behind  him  a  good 
record  in  all  his  relations  to  life  and  society.  It  is  as  un- 
just as  it  is  unnecessary  to  fling  mud  upon  such  a  record 
for  anything  that  has  since  happened. 


CHAPTER  IL 

THE  BOSTON  DRYGOODS  CLERK  -  THE  GOVERNMENT  CONTBACTOB 
-  ADMITTED  TO  THE  FIRM  OF  JORDAN,  HARSH  &  CO  -  A  MON- 
OPOLY —  BUNKING  COTTON  THROUGH  THE  LINES  -  INCOMPAT- 
IBILITIES -  HE  RETIRES  FROM  THE  FIBM. 


•••  i  '-  •  •---  • 

The  drygoods  used  by  Mr.  Fisk  in  his  business  at 
Brattleboro  were  purchased  flf  the  young  Boston  house 
of  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.  This  firm  was  not  only  im- 
pressed by  the  frequent  large  bills  of  goods  which  their 
young  customer  from  Vermont  purchased  but  was  also 
struck  by  his  general  bearing  and  manner  of  doing  busi- 
ness. Detecting  in  him  abilities  worthy  of  a  higher  and 
larger  sphere  of  action,  and  perhaps  spurred  on  by  the  more 
self-interested  desire  to  secure  the  abilities  of  such  a 
stirring  man  in  their  firm,  they  suggested  his  aban- 
doning peddling  and  entering  their  establishment  as  a 
salesman.  There  was  much  about  his  peddling  business 
that  was  very  congenial  to  such  a  nature  as  his  and  he 
liked  it  not  a  little.  There  was  constant  change,  variety 
and  moderate  excitement  in  the  life,  constant  opportunity  • 
for  indulging  his  inclination  to  sport  and  jokes  ;  he  was 


WITH  JORDAN,    MAESH   &    CO.  17 

his  own  master,  -wholly  independent ;  and,  above  all,  he 
was  very  conspicuous,  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes,  the  centre 
of  an  almost  constant  sensation — an  aliment  indispen- 
sable to  his  contentment.  But  his  style  of  living  and 
conducting  his  business  was  extravagant  for  such  a  trade. 
He  hated  and  would  not  practise  that  rigid  economy 
which  alone  could  make  it  a  paying  enterprise.  Hia 
expenses  were  so  great  that  the  promise  of  pecuniary 
success  was  not  good.  For  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  the 
attraction  there  naturally  would  be  for  a  man  of  his 
temperament  in  passing  from  a  peddler's  cart  to  a  very 
large  wholesale  house,  and  from  a  home  in  the  country 
to  life  in  a  great  city,  the  proposition  of  the  Boston  firm 
was  at  once  accepted.  With  that  promptitude  which  is 
one  of  his  most  marked  traits,  he  wound  up  his  business 
at  Brattleboro  immediately  and  entered  the  house  of 
Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.  on  a  salary. 

The  inexorable  laws  of  his  nature  here  exhibited  them- 
selves very  strikingly  at  once,  and  in  a  manner  as  unex- 
pected to  himself  as  to  his  employers.  The  salesman 
seemed  entirely  out  of  his  element.  The  young  man's 
energy  seemed  to  have  suddenly  collapsed.  "Drum- 
ming" customers  was  a  work  he  instinctively  recoiled 
from  and  could  not  do.  Exhibiting  goods  and  talking 
a  man  into  a  purchase  suited  him  no  better.  It  had  an 
air  of  pettiness,  servitude  and  dependence  that  grated 
,  harshly  upon  every  fibre  of  his  spirit.  There  was  no 
eclat  or  dash  about  it.  It  was  a  fall  from  the  position  he 


18  THE    DRTGOODS    CLERK. 

liad  enjoyed  in  the-  country,  where  people  came  to  him 
and  wanted  to  buy,  where  he  bossed  and  gave  orders  and 
managed  things  with  a  great  flourish,  and  was  looked  up 
to  by  all  as  being  a  grand  affair.  Now  ho  was  insig- 
nificant, swallowed  up  in  a  great  establishment  with 
many  gradations  of  clerks,  -where  he  was  bossed  and  had 
to  take  orders.  Ho  felt  the  change.  Leaving  the  coun- 
try for  the  city  seemed  to  have  been  a  great  mistake. 
The  prince  of  country  peddlers  had  bee*n  spoiled  to  make 
a  very  poor  city  salesman.  In  short,  his  first  six  months 
in  Boston  were  a  complete  failure  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  the  firm  advised  him  to  return  to  his  peddling  bus- 
iness as  being  that  for  which  he  was  best  adapted,  and 
in  which  he  would  meet  with  most  success.  But  here 
another  marked  trait  of  his  character  and  nature  asserted 
itself  and  appeared  in  bold  relief.  He  is  not  a  man  to 
acknowledge  failure  in  anything  he'  undertakes.  His  ia 
one  of  those  spirits  that  much  prefer  to  fight  on  un- 
daunted against  every  obstacle  rather  than  brook  such  a 
thought  as  returning  to  what  has  once  been  laid  aside  to 
go  up  higher.  In  this  first  trying  circumstance  of  his 
life  he  acted  from  that  impulse  and  instinct  within  him 
which  has  ever  been  his  trusted  and  unquestioned  guide, 
the  one  light  by  which  his  steps  have  been  directed 
through  all  his  remarkable  career.  To  the  suggestion 
of  the  firm  ho  replied  "  Give  me  a  fair  chance,  Mr. 
Jordan.  Don't  be  discouraged  too  quick.  Try  me  six 
months  more.  If  you  are  dissatisfied  at  the  end  of  that 


HIS    OPPOETTINITT    COSIES.  19 

time,  I  shall  be  glad  to  quit.  I'm  not  particular  about 
any  salary.  I'm  willing  to  accept  a  commission  on  my 
sales  for  my  pay.  Only  let  mo  have  a  fair  chance." 
There  was  something  in  his  manner  that  inspired  hope 
and  confidence  and  his  request  was  readily  granted. 
Ho  had  not  the  slightest  tangible  reason  except  the 
vaguo  but  potent  something  within,  like  Sheridan's  "  It's 
in  mo  and  it  shall  come  out ! "  for  indulging  such  hope 
and  cherishing  such  faith.  Ho  had  not  the  remotest 
definite  idea  how  his  salvation  was  to  bo  wrought  out. 
His  hour  came,  however,  and  then  he  speedily  justified 
his  wisdom  in  following  impulse. 

The  war  broke  out.  Ho  saw  in  a  flash  that  this  was 
his  opportunity  and  he  instantly  embraced  it.  The  gov- 
ernment must  have  large  supplies  of  woolen  and  cotton 
fabrics  and  there  were  large  and  very  profitable  contracts 
to  bo  given  to  somebody.  This  was  enough  for  him  to 
know.  Hero  was  attractive  game,  a  foeman  worthy  of  his 
steel.  The  spirit  that  chafed  at -being  an  inconspicuous 
salesman  and  felt  humbled  and  ashamed  to  go  about 
"drumming"  small  purchasers,  here  saw  something  tho 
management  and  securing  of  which  would  make  him  a 
man  of  some  importance  both  with  his  firm  and  "with 
those  whom  ho  had  to  approach.  It  required  abilities, 
tact,  liberal,  ideas,  was  on  a  scale  sufficiently  grand  to 
gratify  vanity,  the  profits  sure  to  bo  derived  wcro  im- 
mense, and  when  once  secured  ho  would  only  have  to 
give  orders  and  directions  and  not  attend  personally  to 


20  eOVEENMENT    CONTEACTS. 

small  affairs  of  detail.  For  these  prizes  Mr.  Fisk  was  one 
of  the  earliest,  most  active  and  most  successful  contes- 
tants. He  foresaw  all,  scented  his  trail,  and  set  about 
accomplishing  his  design  before  anything  of  the  kind  had 
occured  to  the  firm.  He  soon  secured  several  large  con- 
tracts for  his  house  and  they  speedily  changed  their  opin- 
ion as  to  the  advisability  of  his  returning  to  peddling. 
The  man's  peculiar  genius 

" for  ways  that  are  dark, 

s  And  for  tricks  that  are  vain," 

came  into  full  play  and  shone  in  all  its  brilliancy  in 
securing  the  first  contract.  It  is  said  that  a  Boston  lady, 
through  the  influence  of  one  of  the  Massachusetts  Sena- 
tors, had  obtained  a  large  contract  for  supplying  under- 
clothing for  the  army  and  had  already  disposed  of  a 
portion  of  the  contract  to  a  prominent  Boston  house.  Mr. 
Fisk  at  once  set  to  work  to  secure  a  graceful  introduction 
to  this  lady  of  much  consequence,  succeeded,  and  ingra- 
tiated himself  \vith  her  so  speedily  that  he  induced  her  to 
annul  the  sub-contract  she  had  already  given  out  and 
award  it  to  his  rival  firm  instead.  Other  contracts  soon 
followed  from  the  same  source  and  the  profits  accruing  to 
Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.  therefrom  were  immense. 

This  stroke,  though  brilliant  and  successful,  was  soon 
quite  eclipsed  by  another.  The  firm  had  quite  a  large 
quantity  of  blankets  that  had  been  on  their  hands  for  a 
long  time  and  which  were  now  stowed  away  in  one  of  the 
lofts  and  regarded  as  dead  stock.  An  idea  struck  James 


A   TBIP  TO  WASHINGTON.  21 

one  day.  He  went  immediately  to  the  head  of  the  firm 
and  simply  said  "Mr.  Jordan,  I'm  going  to  sell  those 
blankets  up  in  the  loft."  Nothing  more  explicit  in  re- 
gard to  his  designs  or  the  idea  he  had  conceived  could  be 
got  out  of  him ;  but  it  had  now  begun  to  be  felt  that 
when  James  said  he  was  going  to  do  anything  he  would 
do  it,  and  so,  with  a  smile  that  was  a  mixture  of  hope  and 
incredulity,  he  was  answered,  "All  right!  -Go  ahead 
and  sell  them  for  anything  you  can  get."  The  next  train 
for  Washington  carried  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  among  its  pas- 
sengers. The  nest  morning  of  course  James  Fisk,  Jr., 
was  registered  at  Willard's.  Of  course  he  had  one  of 
Willard's  best  suites  and  lived  in  as  free  and  sumptuous 
style  as  Willard's  generous  larder  and  capacious  wine 
cellar  permitted.  It  is  of  course  that  he  did  all  this,  for  he 
never  had  done,  and  by  the  laws  of  his  nature  never  could 
do,  anything  on  any  other  than  a  grand  scale,  in  the  best 
style,  in  a  manner  sure  to  attract  attention.  Strange 
though  it  may  seem,  the  doors  of  that  suite  of  rooms  were 
not  closed  to  quartermasters,  congressmen,  or  any  one  of 
position  or  influence  among  the  powers  that  were.  If 
any  such  came  they  were  admitted  as  readily  and  made 
as  welcome  as  any  one  else  to  all  the  hospitalities.  There 
was  great  popping  of  corks,  the  sparkling  goblets  passed 
freely  round,  the  landlord  filled  the  flowing  bowl  and 
kept  it  running  over,  everybody  enjoyed  life,  and 

"  Jim  Fisk  is  a  jolly  good  fellow  " 
was  nightly  sung  with  great  gusto  by  a  company  in  the 


22  AT  WILMKD'S. 

usual  hilarious  mood  in  which  that  tune  becomes  a  great 
favorite.  The  host  while  overseeing  every  desire  sup- 
plied, joined  in  the  "  flow  of  soul,"  got  off  innumerable 
puns  as  if  free  from  every  care, 

"  And  hb  smiled  as  be  sat  by  the  table 
With  a  smile  that  -was  child-like  and  bland." 

At  length,  as  one  of  those  incidents  in  which  conversation 
around  the  social  bowl  is  ever  fruitful,  it  casually  leaked 
out  that  there  was  great  need  of  blankets  of  a  certain 
kind  for  the  army.  As  a  most  fortunate  coincidence,  Mr. 
Fisk  happened  to  havo  a  hundred  or  two  with  him  as 
samples  of  some  he  could  furnish  to  supply  the  pressing 
want.  He  produced  them  for  inspection  with  an  air  of 
much  indifference  and,  as  he  did  so,  facetiously  quoted 
Artemas  Ward's  famous  pill-box  label,  "  For  such  people 
as  liko  this  kind  of  pills,  these  are  just  the  pills  they 
ought  to  take."  A  joke  and  a  laugh  is  said  often  to  go 
much  further  than  logic  in  swaying  a  jury.  Whether 
facetiousness  bo  equally  potent  with  quartermasters  is 
not  so  well  settled,  but  there  is  in  this  case  some  further 
indication  that  human  nature  is  ever  the  same  under  all 
circumstances — whether  in  the  jury  box  or  under  a 
quartermaster-general's  uniform.  Happy  result  —  all 
those  old  blankets  stowed  away  in  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.'s 
loft  were  not  only  disposed  of  for  three  times  as  much  as 
the  firm  would  gladly  have  taken  for  them,  but  they 
also  got  a  contract  for  a  further  supply  of  a  million  or 
more  dollars  iii  value,  and  their  house  must  have  realized 


LOOKING    OT7T   FOfi   NO.    1.  23 

between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  as  the 
result  of  this  little  pleasure  trip  to  Washington. 

It  will  readily  be  surmised  that  Mr.  Fisk  was  not  a 
man  that  would  be  likely  to  overlook  the  fact  that  ho  who 
could  secure  for  his  employers  contracts  from  which  tho 
larger  portion  of  their  profits  was  derived,  contracts  for 
which  any  number  of  houses  stood  ready  to  pay  an 
immense  sum,  was  a  man  of  no  small  consequence  to  the 
firm  and  had  some  rights  which  they  were  bound  to 
respect,  nor  was  it  at  all  unnatural  under  the  circum- 
stances that  he  should  feel  it  might  be  just  as  well  for  him 
to  turn  the  opportunity  to  his  own  behoof.  In  short,  soon 
after  securing  his  earliest  government  contracts,  tho 
quondam  country  peddler  boldly  announced  to  tho  firm 
one  morning  that  he  had  a  no  less  ambitious  and  presum- 
ing desire  than  that  of  being  immediately  admitted  into 
the  partnership.  The  members  laughed.  It  was  one  of 
James's  little  jokes,  they  thought,  and  was  very  good  in 
its  way.  Of  course  it  was  too  preposterous  to  be  intended 
seriously,  thought  they.  A  joke?  Not  a  bit  of  it! — un- 
less they  made  it  so,  and  then  it  would  be  a  joke  the  hu- 
morous side  of  which  they  would  not  at  all  relish.  They 
speedily  woke  to  a  consciousness  that  James  meant  busi- 
ness. They  found  he  held  the  balance  of  power,  saw  his 
opportunity,  and  had  the  disposition  and  nerve  to  make 
tho  most  of  it.  He  had  been  shrewd  enough  to  secure 
certain  contracts  in  his  own  name  instead  of  tho  name  of 
the  firm,  consequently  he  could  dispose  of  them  as  he 


24  ADMITTED   TO   PABTNEESHIP. 

pleased.  If  they  would  not,  there  were  other  first  class 
houses  that  would  gladly  give  him  a  partnership  for  the 
contracts  he  could  secure  for  whatever  house  he  was  with, 
so  they  could  have  their  choice  between  taking  him  in  as  a 
partner  or  seeing  contracts  worth  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  carried  off  from  their  door  to  some  rival  house. 
He  did  not  care.  It  was  only  to  oblige  them,  not  himself, 
that  he  wished  to  become  a  member  of  their  firm.  But 
from  his  ultimatum  there  was  no  escape.  Aut  Ccesar  aut 
nullus  !  A  partner  or  quit !  The  comic  smile  which  the 
preposterous  demand  at  first  raised  disappeared  instanter. 
A  little  consultation  was  held  in  which  nothing  of  the 
humorous  entered,  and  soon  the  crisis  was  settled.  A 
new  name,  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  was  thenceforth  included  in 
the  elastic  "  Co."  of  Jordan,  .Marsh  &  Co. 

The  new  sense  of  dignity,  importance  and  power  which 
naturally  came  with  the  consciousness  of  being  a  partner 
in  one  of  the  largest  establishments  in  New  England,  in 
no  wise  diminished  the  confidence,  zeal  and  boldness  of 
the  new  member.  Large  contracts  continued  to  flow  in 
to  their  house  as  the  fruit  of  his  tact  and  energy,  and 
very  soon  the  business  of  the  firm  showed  various  signs 
of  the  infusion  of  new  blood  into  its  veins.  Mr.  Fisk, 
never  having  studied  Bowen's  Political  Economy,  was 
happy  in  the  possession  of  a  mind  wholly  unclouded  by 
any  befogged  metaphysical  abstractions  about  the  beauty, 
simplicity  and  great  advantage  to  humanity,  resulting 
from  the  division  of  labor,  and  he  therefore  clearly  saw 


NEW    ENTERPRISE.  25 

that  by  manufacturing  their  own  goods,  instead  of  buying 
them  from  manufacturers  and  agents,  his  firm  could  add 
the  manufacturer's  profit  to  their  own,  and  would  also  in 
that  way  be  able*  to  undersell  rival  houses  that  bought 
instead  of  manufacturing  their  goods,  and  thus  largely 
increase  the  amount  of  their  sales  and  profits.  Accord- 
ingly he  urged  this  course  upon  his  firm.  At  first  it  was 
looked  upon  skeptically,  but  was  tried  in  a  small  way  as 
an  experiment.  The  experiment  was  a  grand  success. 
The  new  member  stuck  a  new  red  feather  in  his  cap  and 
was  in  his  glory.  The  firm  now  bought  several  cotton 
and  woolen  mills,  built  as  many  more  new  ones,  operated 
them  at  a  profit  that  seemed  almost  fabulous  in  some 
cases,  and  thus  for  other  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars were  indebted  to  the  originality  and  quick  percep- 
tions of  the  man  whose  name  still  rested  in  the  oblivion 
of  the  now  important  "  Co." 

.  A  single  stroke  at  this  period  of  his  career  disclosed 
all  those  striking  mental  qualities  which  have  conduced 
so  greatly  to  his  later  exploits — an  intuitive  perception  of 
a  whole  situation  almost  instantly,  an  immediate  resolve, 
a  nerve  and  daring  to  do  anything,  and  the  greatest 
celerity  of  action.  Being  in  New  York  on  one  occasion, 
and  snuffing  afar  off  the  first  indications  and  knowledge 
that  there  was  likely  to  be  a  great  demand  soon  for  a 
certain  kind  of  goods,  and  knowing  or  learning  that 
there  was  but  one  mill  in  the  country  where  such  goods 
were  manufactured,  he  immediately  telegraphed  his  firm 


26  HIS  FIRST  "CORNER." 

to  send  an  agent  to  Gaysville,  Vt.,  to  buy  that  mill  at  any 
price  demanded,  and  at  the  same  time  he  bought  up  all 
the  goods  of  that  kind  to  be  had  in  the  market.  The  firm 
had  now  learned  to  obey  the  laconic  and  even  mysterious 
directions  of  James  as  unhesitatingly  as  Napoleon's  sub- 
ordinates obeyed  his  every  word.  The  agent  was  sent  as 
the  telegram  ordered  and  the  coveted  mill  was  purchased 
at  a  fair  price.  In  less  than  an  hour  after  the  bargain  was 
closed,  the  former  owner  received  a  telegram  from  New 
York  offering  him  $5,000  more  than  the  price  at  which 
he  had  sold  it.  But  it  was  too  late.  Fisk  had  been  too 
quick  for  them.  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.  had  an  entire 
monopoly  and  controlled  the  market.  James  Fisk,  Jr., 
had  got  up  his  first  "  corner"  and  engineered  it  through 
to  entire  success.  After  running  the  mill  some  two 
years  at  an  annual  profit  of  upwards  of  $100,000,  the 
Boston  firm  resold  it  to  the  former  owner. 

Another  project,  and  one  which,  in  point  of  ethics,  the 
difficulties  besetting  it  and  the  means  by  which  it  was  to 
be  accomplished,  savored  more  strongly  of  the  character  of 
his  later  and  well-known  exploits,  now  suggested  itself  to 
the  versatile  drj'goods  man.  Cotton  was  selling  in  New 
York  and  Boston  at  $1.70  to  $1.80  the  pound,  and  there 
was  but  very  little  to  be  had  even  at  those  figures.  Yet 
within  the  Confederate  lines  cotton  was  abundant  and 
•was  a  dead  weight  which  the  owners  were  as  anxious  to 
dispose  of  as  the  New  England  mills  were  to  obtain,  and 
that  at  figures  almost  as  far  in  one  extreme  as  the  ruling 


corroir  spEcutATioir.  27 


prices  outside  of  the  Confederacy  were  in  the  other. 
Query  in  Mr.  Fisk's  mind  —  how  could  these  two  facts  bo 
made  to  work  together  for  good  to  those  who  loved  the 
fortune  lying  between  ?  Two  difficulties  were  in  the  way. 
To  most  minds  they  would  have  seemed  wholly  insur- 
mountable ;  but  not  so  to  the  man  to  whom  nothing  seems 
impossible  when  only  human  beings  are  to  be  managed. 
All  sentimental  nonsense  about  there  being  a  moral  ele- 
ment in  the  problem,  the  right  and  wrong  of  giving  aid 
and  comfort  to  the  enemies  of  his  country,  violating  the 
laws  of  blockade,  etc.,  Mr.  Fisk  dismissed  at  once  in  great 
contempt  'as  worthy  only  of  some  brain-cracked  lunatic, 
and  immediately  addressed  himself  to  the  practical  ques- 
tions, how  to  get  cotton  through  the  lines  without  its 
being  seized  by  the  goverainent  authorities  as  contraband, 
and  how  the  delicate  and  perilous  business  of  buying  and 
forwarding  inside  the  Confederacy  could  be  conducted. 
He  paid  a  visit  to  Tennessee,  the  point  where  the  lines 
must  bo  passed  and  the  region  where  cotton  was  plenty. 
The  government  superintendent  of  the  railroads  here  hap- 
pened to  be  a  man  that  ho  had  formerly  known  in  Boston. 
This  was  most  fortunate.  The  tarry  at  Memphis  was 
brief  and  ho  returned  with  a  mind  evidently  at  ease  on 
one  point.  The  hare  could  be  cooked,  and  in  this  caso 
that  was  more  difficult  than  to  catch  it.  Boring  a  tunnel 
through  Iloosac  Mountain  requires  ton  years  or  more,  and 
many  lives.  The  seemingly  impassable  barriers  between 
two  hostile  territories  engaged  in  a  life  and  death  struggle 


28  BONING   THE   GAUNTLET. 

• 

Mr.  Fisk  pierced  in  a  day  and  night  so  as  to  let  the  golden 
light  shine  through.  The  machine  by  which  this  unpar- 
alleled feat  of  tunnelling  was  accomplished  has  never  been 
patented — perhaps  for  the  reason  that  no  one  but  the  in- 
ventor could  ever  use  it,  so  a  patent  would  be  useless.  Its 
exact  nature  is  therefore  wholly  a  matter  of  inference. 
The  remaining  branch  of  the  problem  was  now  taken  up 
and  in  the  solution  of  this  there  was  displayed  a  knoVledge 
of  human  nature  as  keen  and  sagacious  as  that  which  is 
supposed  to  have  carried  General  Grant  through  at  the 
head  of  our  armies  so  triumphantly.  To  buy  cotton  inside 
the  rebel  lines  under  such  ticklish  circumstances  required 
a  person  of  great  tact  and  intuitive  judgment  of  men  and 
circumstances,  and  for  this  duty  a  woman  admirably 
adapted  to  the  purpose  was  employed.  To  collect  and  for- 
ward it  when  purchcsed  was  a  work  still  more  thickly 
beset  with  difficulties  and  pitfalls  at  every  step,  to  elude 
the  suspicions  flying  in  front  and  rear,  run  the  gauntlet 
of  wary  sentinels  and  get  the  forbidden  fruit  safely 
through  to  some  market  in  the  North.  A  single  false 
step  might  defeat  the  whole  project,  sink  all  the  capital 
invested,  and  involve  the  person  found  thus  engaged  in  no 
slight  danger  of v  his  personal  liberty  for  a  term  of  years. 
To  brave  all  these  risks  and  dangers  and  undertake  these 
delicate  duties,  Mr.  Fisk  secured  the  services  of  his  own 
father.  The  venture  is  supposed  by  those  who  pretend  to 
know,  to  have  been  a  very  profitable  one  pecuniarily. 
One  of  the  noblest  and  most  inspiring  spectacles  ever 


1.    NOBLE    DKED,  29 

witnessed  in  Boston,  and  one  which  those  who  witnessed 
it  will  never  forget,  was  largely  due  to  the  originality  and 
exertions  of  Mr.  Fisk.  The  news  of  the  battle  of  Antie- 
tam,  in  September,  1862,  reached  Boston  on  Sunday 
morning.  When  the  Sabbath  school  bells  rang  on  the 
bright  lovely  morning,  all  hearts  were  appalled  by  tidings 
that  sent  the  death  shadow  into  many  a  home  and  told  of 
thousands  of  brave  men  suffering  the  agonies  of  a  bloody 
battle  field.  Mr.  Fisk  and  his  partner,  Mr.  Jordan,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  having  the  churches  suspend  services 
and  devote  themselves  to  the  practical  religion  of  relieving 
the  suffering  of  the  men  who  had  fallen  for  them.  The 
idea  caught  like  magic.  The  churches  were  closed,  the 
citizens  forgot  self  and  put  forth  every  exertion  to  miti- 
gate the  suffering  of  the  --wounded  and  dying.  Tremont 
Temple  was  transformed  into  a  depot  for  the  collection  of 
hospital  supplies.  Delicate  ladies  worked  all  the  day  long 
with  the  devotion  and  enthusiasm  peculiar  to  the  sex  in 
the  hour  of  great  trials  and  suffering.  Lint,  bandages, 
and  the  necessities  for  binding  up  the  gaping  wounds, 
wines  and  all  the  delicacies  that  could  mitigate  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  fallen  in  the  hospital,  poured  in  from  every 
direction,  each  household  contributing  according  to  its 
means.  It  was  a  scene  which  mado  it  hard  for  any  be- 
holder to  repress  the  tears,  and  suddenly  threw  into  bold 
relief  all  the  noblest  traits  of  humanity.  By  nightfall 
many  carloads  of  supplies  were  on  their  way  to  the  field 
of  suffering.  Mr.  Fisk  worked  in  this  as  he  does  in  every- 


80  CHAPEKO.N    TO    GEK. 


thing,  with  all  his  might,  superintending  and  directing; 
and  when  this  (perhaps  his  noblest)  day's  work  was  done 
ho  said,  with  an  excusable  pride  and  satisfaction,  "  There  ! 
what  will  New  York  say  of  Boston  now  ?" 

During  these  years  and  enterprises,  Mr.  Fisk  was  of 
course  quite  prominent  after  his  peculiar  fashion,  always 
living  in  the  sumptuous,  regardless-of-expense  style,  and  it 
was  at  this  period  that  ho  saw  the  best  society  ho  has  ever 
mingled  with  familiarly.  His  contempt  for  tho  most  car- 
dinal laws  of  decent  social  life  had  not  then  been  openly 
manifested.  He  maintained  a  respectable  attitude  to  the 
relations  deemed  most  sacred  by  all  decent  people,  and  the 
doors  of  society  of  tho  middle  class  were  open  to  him  and 
his  family.  "When  General  McClellan  visited  Boston  on  "his 
tour  to  New  England  soon  after  receiving  tho  famous  or- 
der to  report  at  Baltimore,  Mr.  Fisk  was  quite  conspicuous 
and  active  in  doing  tho  honors  for  Boston  on  that  occasion, 
met  tho  distinguished  visitor  on  quite  familiar  terms,  and 
is  said  to  have  ingratiated  himself  not  a  littlo  with  the 
hero  of  tho  Chickahominy  Swamps. 

Tho  house  of  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.,  already  prominent 
among  tho  Boston  firms  when  Mr.  Fisk  entered  it,  had, 
during  tho  four  years  of  liis  connection  with  it,  rapidly 
grown  to  bo  one  of  tho  very  foremost  and  probably  now 
stood  at  tho  head  of  tho  list  in  extent  of  business  done  and 
profits  realized.  They  not  only  gathered  tho  same  rich 
harvest  in  tho  doubling,  trebling,  quadrupling  or  more,  in, 
value  of  tho  largo  stocks  of  goods  on  Land,  but  they  Lad 


DISTANCE    UCHDS   EKCHANTMiarr.  81 

also  secured  in  addition  to  their  regular  business  many 
enormously  profitable  government  contracts,  and  had  en- 
gaged extensively  in  manufacturing  at  just  the  time  when 
this  \vas  most  remunerative  and  when  a  single  mill  brought 
a  fine  fortune  annually.  For  many  of  the  richest  contribu- 
tions to  this  immense  pool  they  were  indebted  directly  and 
solely  to  Mr.  Fisk,  and  it  is  probable  that  his  abilities  had 
a  greater  influence  than  those  of  any  other  one  man  in  tho 
firm,  if  not  more  than  all  the  rest  united,  in  swelling  |he 
grand  total  of  wealth  they  had  accumulated  during  these 
four  eventful  years.  However  this  may  be,  it  was  not 
long  before  it  became  evident  that,  at  the  rate  things  were 
going,  the  firm  of  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co.  would  soon  come 
to  mean  what  the  Erie  Railway  has  since  come  to  mean 
and  just  what  everything  with  which  this  spirit  is  connect- 
ed is  sure  soon  to  mean — James  Fisk,  Jr.  A  man  of  such 
strongly  marked  individuality  cannot  be  long  kept  in  a 
position  of  secondary  authority  and  influence  in  anything 
he  is  connected  with.  His  voice  must  be  the  potent  one, 
his  will  the 'ruling  force,  or  else  there  will  be  trouble  at 
once.  While  the  era  of  government  contracts  and  large 
outside  speculative  enterprises  continued,  this  was  his  spe- 
cial field,  and  while  thus  engaged  he  was  necessarily  away 
much  of  tho  time  at  a  distance  that  lent  enchantment  and 
was  not  brought  into  such  close  personal  contact  with 
the  other  members  of  the  firm  daily  as  to  make  his  pe- 
culiar propensities  felt  unpleasantly ;  but  as  this  era  waned 
he  was  brought  more  constantly  in  personal  contact  with 


32  XXCOXPATABILITISg. 

his  partners.  The  very  qualities  which  had  made  him 
their  most  valuable  man  when  government  contracts  were 
plenty,  stocks  rising,  and  a  smile  of  prosperity  rested  over 
everything,  were  precisely  the  most  dangerous  ones  to  be 
influenced  by  now  when  business  had  become  unsettled 
and  hazardous,  making  it  necessary  to  take  in  much  of  the 
sail  that  had  been  spread  before  the  favorable  and  reliable 
breeze  and  manage  all  affairs  with  the  utmost  care  and 
caution.  His  bold,  venturesome,  impulsive  spirit  now 
clashed  at  once  with  the  cautious  counsels  of  his  partners 
and  the  man's  individuality  and  dominant  traits  were  at 
once  felt  in  their  full  force.  His  native  confidence,  self- 
assertion  and  persistence  in  his  own  impulses  and  will, 
were  not  lessened  of  course  by  the  consciousness  of  the  im- 
portant part  he  had  played  in  the  very  successful  career  of 
the  firm.  It  became  evident  at  once  that  either  the  men 
whose  names  alone  appeared  upon  the  sign  boards,  must 
change  place  in  importance  with  a  single  name  covered  up 
under  the  "  Co.,"  and  they  be  forced  to  accept  a  back  seat 
while  that  ruling  spirit  stood  chiefly  at  the  helm,  or  else 
that  spirit  must  bo  exorcised  from  the  concern  entirely. 
The  latter  was  the  alternative  chosen  and  this  proved  not 
to  be  difficult  of  accomplishment.  The  firm  freely  ad- 
mitted the  great  value  Mr.  Fisk's  services  had  been  to  the 
house  and  they  were  willing  to  deal  generously  with  him 
if  he  would  now  withdraw.  He,  on  the  other  hand,  con- 
fident of  his  own  fertility  of  resources  under  any  circum- 
stances, cared  not  a  rush  about  remaining  in  the  firm  pro* 


HE    RETIRES    FKOM    THE    FIEM.  33 

vided  he  were  paid  what  he  deemed  a  fair  sum  to  quit. 
Such  being  the  spirit  on  either  side,  the  question  was 
easily  settled  and  the  man  who  had  entered  the  establish- 
ment at  one  end  as  a  salesman  four  years  ago  now  made 
his  exit  at  the  other  end  as  a  partner,  retiring  with  what 
he  would  have  considered  a  princely  fortune  in  his  ped- 
dling days,  and  also  carrying  with- him  the  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  ho  had  been  the  most  important  element  in 
the  unrivalled  success  of  a  great  firm  during  four  most 
eventful  years. 


r>»v> 


7/OJK    I   ;.  -'"•    e  I/if 


i-  hi  s'.i  -mrrh-'i  ^frvj;rraq  a  I^o-ioJii^jjoa  ^Y^tf  i>ii:f>7'  ••;(' 
CHAPTER  TTT. 


A  DBTOOODS  JCEECITllfT—  TTITStrCCESSFinL  VEimTRKS  -  A  EOXLTH0 
STONE  -  MISFOETUNES  THICKEN  -  A  FOKETASTE  OF  R17IX  - 
THE  GODDESS  SMILES  AGAIN—  THE  APPROPRIATE  SPHERE  AT 
LAST  -  A  MILLIONAIRE. 

Mr.  Fisk  withdrew  from  the  firm  of  Jordan,  Marsh  & 
Co.  possessed  of  what  would  have  been  quite  a  comfort- 
able fortune  to  retire  upon  for  a  man  having  no  heir 
apparent.  But  he  was  not  one  of  the  retiring  kind. 
Activity  and  bustle  as  a  man  of  affairs  are  as  neccessary 
to  his  contentment  as  is  oxygen  to  his  lungs.  He 
immediately  resolved  to  continue  in  the  trade  and 
establish  a  business  of  his  own  that  should  rival  that  of 
the  house  in  which  he  had  served  such  a  brilliant  appren- 
ticeship. In  a  surprisingly  short  time  a  large  new  sign 
bearing  the  name  of  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  appeared  over  the 
doors  of  a  fine  large  store  at  the  corner  of  Sumner  and 
Chauncey  Streets  —  a  conspicuous  building  in  a  conspicu- 
ous part  of  the  city,  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  house 
from  which  he  had  just  separated.  To  build  up  a  dry- 
goods  jobbing  business  by  himself  would  not  have  been 


THB   DHYG000S   MERCHANT.  86 

r  *•»•*"••»      •-•»   i"         •  •  *•        •'-'•     •'  -4     fir,   •'•    .•  f      F--\r  • 

an  easy  matter  under  any  circumstances,  and  it  was 
especially  difficult  just  at  that  period.  The  constant  and 
rapid  rise  in  the  price  of  fabrics,  which  had  made  the 
business  so  very  prosperous  and  safe  during  the  past  four 
years,  had  reached  its  climax  and  the  ebbing  tide  had  set 
in  and  raised  the  reflex  wave  that  introduced  such  great 
uncertainty  and  hazard  into  the  trade  and  was  destined  to 
bury  not  a  few  beneath  it  in  its  fitful  motions.  The  task 
that  had  been  undertaken  was  as  difficult  as  to  stand  on  a 
barrel  and  roll  it  with  the  feet.  Government  contracts,  ia 
which  his  previous  success  had  largely  consisted,  were  no 
longer  to  be  had,  for  the  authorities  were  now  confident 
of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war  and  were  retrenching 
expenditures.  Manufacturing  was  at  a  standstill  or  was 
prosecuted  only  at  a  loss.  Building  up  a  regular  legiti- 
mate jobbing  trade  was  not  at  all  in  Mr.  Fisk's  vein. 
Ho  felt  for  its  duties  the  same  aversion  he  had  felt  for 
"  drumming  "  during  his  early  months  in  Boston  and  let 
it  alone  in  the  same  way.  His  attention  and  efforts  being 
thus  left  unengrossed  by  the  undertaking  he  had  proposed 
for  himself,  he  engaged  in  various  speculative  enterprises, 
not  only  such  as  were  partially  allied  to  his  ostensible 
business  (as  cotton)  but  in  anything  that  suggested  itself 
to  him  or  was  presented  in  a  favorable  light  and  promised 
the  requisite  elements  of  diversion  with  a  fair  chance  of 
profit.  But  everything  was  paralyzed  and  stagnant  under 
reaction  from  the  stimulant  which  the  war  had  afforded, 
and  all  business  that  required  the  investment  of  capital 


38  DULL   TIKES. 

seemed  destined  to  entail  loss.  It  was  the  most  critical 
period  of  dread  suspense  when  everything  was  unsettled 
and  under  a  lowering  future,  and  a  tremor  was  running 
through  all  business  in  expectation  of  a  great  financial 
crash.  Drygoods  began  to  tumble  at  such  leaps  that  any 
jconsiderable  stock  on  hand  meant  a  small  fortune  lost 
eyery  .month.  His  speculative  ventures  rarely  proved 
successful,  often  were  bad  failures.  After  a  few  months 
of  thjs  precarious  fortune,  again  yielding  to  impulse  and 
iinstinct  rather  than  convictions  reached  by  reflection  and 
calculation,  he  resolved  to  close  up  his  business  and  go 
out  of  the  tnido.  This  resolution  .to  discontinue  was  exe- 
cuted with  the-  same  celerity,  as  had  been  the  former  one 
jtp  start  by  himself.  The  fortune  drawn  out  from  the 
iirm  ,of  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Qo.  had  melted  rapidly  in  the 
unprosperous  months  succeeding,  but  he  settled  up  all 
.his  #Sai?s  JLeaying  no  unpaid  obligations. 

T,here  is  a  certain  famous  being  or  character,  half 
JhjUtpric,  half  fabulous,  favored  in  the  fancy  of  both  poot 
$ud  theologian,  who,  it  is  positively  .alleged,  is  always 
sure  to  claim  his  own  sooner  or  later.  James  Fisk,  Jr., 
went  to  New  York.  He  allowed  "natur"  to  take  its 
f?QU*se  ppw,  And  as  naturally  as  the  needle  dips  to  the 
pole  or  the  force  of  gravity  draws  all  things  towards  the 
earth's  centre,  he  brought  up  in  Wall  Street — the  favorite 
haunt  of  the  worst  breed  of  gamblers  the  world  has  yet 
produced— HIGH  /whom  one  who  knows  them  beat*  has 

if  VjMvVttM.M: 


"IHS  DEVIL   CLAIMS    HIS   OWW."  8J 

called  "a  set  of  thieves  and  cutthroats,"  every  one  of 
whose  transactions  leaves  the  world  so  much  the  worse 
off,  and  whose  most  fitting  and  forcible  commentary  is  to 
be  read  in  the  fact  that  if  every  one  of  them  were  to  drop 
out  of  existence  instantly  society  and  every  honest  call- 
ing would  be  greatly  benefited.  It  was  with  the  men  of 
this  ilk  that  the  ex-drygoodsman  now  proposed  to  put 
his  lance  in  rest  and  measure  swords.  All  the  world 
will  admit  the  wisdom  and  appropriateness  of  the  course 
selected  as  one  for  which  he  was  eminently  adapted.  It 

' ''~.'<\  "t  ~..j  ~'        '          "  '•'''":"•">      "V'    f'.'^U 

was  just  the  course  Fowler  would  have  advised  him  to 
pursue  had  he  gone  to  him  and  had  his  head  "examined. 
In  fact,  so  very  natural  and  appropriate  seems  this  migra- 
tion to  the  great  focus  of  respectable  gambling  and  legal- 
ized robbery  that  the  only  wonder  is  that  he  did  not  gra- 
vitate to  the  genial  clime  and  kindred,  though  inferior, 
spirits  immediately  on  leaving  Jordan,  Marsh  &  Co. 
instead  of  first  attempting  to  found  a  drygqods  establish- 
ment. He  has  taught  them  many  a  lesson  at  their  own 
tricks  and  it  is  questionable  if  the  world  at  large  does  not 
owe  him  more  gratitude  than  execration  for  the  deeds 
that  have  made  him 

"  By  merit  raised  to  that  bad  eminence  " 
among  such  leeches  and  pests. 

It  was  in  the  waning  months  of  1864  that  the  resolu- 
tion was  taken  to  shake  off  the  Puritan  dust  and  pass 
from  the  shadow  of  Bunker  Hil)  to  that  of  Trinity 
Church,  He  still  had  sufficient  capital  to  operate  quite 


•ST.-, 

THE    BOLDJTESS    OF    ONOCE1TCB. 


extensively  on  a  "margin,"  the  broker's  most  cunning 
decoy  duck  to  bring  game  -within  his  reach.  Ho  took 
offices  on  Broad  Street  and  furnished  them  in  the  most 
sumptuous  style,  the  man's  individuality  providing  some 
original  features  found  in  no  other  office.  He  launched 
out  boldly  and  almost  haphazard  in  all  the  leading  stocks 
and  most  active  speculative  enterprises,  putting  up  his 
margins  in  pretty  much  the  same  way  that  ho  would 
place  his  "  chips "  in  roulette  or  faro,  thus  at  once  dis- 
closing his  just  conception  of  the  character  of  the  business. 
But  in  his  first  experience  in  the  new  field  there  seemed  to 
hover  over  him  the  same  untoward  fortune  that  beset  his, 
last  months  in  Boston  and  the  proverbially  fickle  goddess 
seemed  to  have  turned  her  smile  and  face  from  him 
entirely.  He  was  not  yet  fully  awake  to  the  genius  of 

the  guild   - 

'«•—  for  ways  that  are  dark  " 

-:i-i!di.!^o  >r.'«..i/»vjfj  a  luiuol  c1  •»ni»i»n  .rhi  j>na  'io  'bx&ysi 
and  the  artful  dodges  by  which  things  were  moved  in 

"Wall  Street.  Ho  had  heard  of  "  honor  among  thieves  '* 
and  in  his  unsophisticated  confidence  in  human  nature- 
eou^ld  not  suspect  that  his  new  associates  were  sunk  so/ 
far  beneath  even  faro  bank  and  roulette  keepers  in  point 
of  honor  as  to  play  with  stacked  cards  and  loaded  dice. 
The  scales  had  not  yet  all  fallen  from  his  eyes.  He  still 
had  some  lingering,  verdant,  boyish,  Puritan,  nonsense 
about  there  really  being  such  things  as  honor  and  hon- 
esty, actually  believed  that  there  was  such  a  crimo  as 
robbery  or  fraud  known  to  the  law  and  that  it  would  lead 


THE    VICTIM  OF   BULLS    AITD    BEAKS.  89 

a  man  to  the  State  Prison.  His  senses  must  be  quick* 
ened  in  the  severe  crucible  of  burnt  fingers  before  he 
could  fully  emerge  from  these  hallucinations  imbibed  in 
his  early  country  home  and  understand  that  all  this  was 
but  a  name,  a  poetic  fiction,  a  ridiculous  Yankee  notion 
probably  invented  by  the  same  man  who  first  sold 
wooden  nutmegs.  He  is  one  of  the  aptest  scholars  in 
such  a  school  and  he  plunged  his  fingers  into  the  molten 
metal  so  boldly  that  he  was  not  long  in  dispelling  the 
clouds  of  rustic  innocence  that  obscured  the  light.  He 
made  some  successes,  as  all  do;  he  made  many  more 
losses,  as  most  do.  It  was  but  a  few  months  before  his 
margins  were  all  swept  away,  his  bank  account  cancelled, 
and  the  remnant  of  a  once  comfortable  fortune  which  he 
had  brought  from  Boston  had  wholly  disappeared — gone 
the  way  of  so  many  others  before  and  since.  The  young 
man  who  had  always  had  means  and  known  plenty  pro- 
portionate to  his  position  and  needs,  who  had  constantly 
risen  in  worldly  condition  till  his  days  had  passed  in 
familiar  contact  with  men  of  high  position,  authority 
and  influence  and  he  felt  himself  a  man  of  consequence 
and  power  established  on  a  secure  pedestal  that  could 
not  be  seriously  shaken  by  fickle  fortune,  suddenly  found 
iumself  penniless  when  his  daily  wants  had  grown  to 
be  very  large,  his  fancied  power  and  security  broken 
and  gone  in  a  flaw  of  wind,  despair  driving  its  pitiless 
arrows  through  his  breast,  helpless  and  unresisting  in 


40 


ETHNED. 


the  Surging  tide   that  was   sweeping  him  down  in  its 
merciless  whirlpool — ruined! 

Such  a  spectacle  is  always  sad  and  touching.  No- 
matter  who  or  what  the  man  in  whose  breast  the  terrible 
emotions  of  such  an  hour  are  passing,  they  touch  a 
responsive  chord  of  sympathy  in  the  great  heart  of  aggre- 
gate impersonal  humanity  as  though  it  saw  its  own 
uncertainties  and  possible  misfortunes  typified  therein. 
It  is  a  situation  whose  agony  in  all  its  fullness  can  be  but 
faintly  imagined  by  one  who  has  never  felt  the'  dread 
creeping  coil  of  misfortune  and  ruin  closing  silently  and: 
fatally  around,  want, J  suffering  and  all  the  horrors  of 
poverty  gathering  On  every  side,  gnawing  ceaselessly  at 
the  very  vitals  of  the  inner  life  and  making  death  at 
one's  own  hand  the  one  welcome  relief  from  despair. 
It  is  a  situation  to  be  met  with  only  in  the  life  of  a' 
great  cosmopolitan  city. 

For  a  moment  (and  perhaps  it  is  the  only  instance  in 
all  his  life)  this  man  of  singular  experiences'  knew  the- 
keenest  pangs  of  despair,  became  pensive  and  introspective 
and  indulged  a  momentary  meditation'  upon  the  vanity 
and  mutability  of  human  affairs.  But  it  was  only  for  & 
moment.  His  is  not  a  spirit  to  sit  down  and  acknowledge 
irretrievable  failure.  Nil  despefcvndum !  "Never  say 
die !  "  is  his  motto  and  it  is  one  to  which  he  is  eminently 
entitled.  As  he  sat  overlooking  the  street  of  world-wide 
fame  and  gazed  down  upon  its  hurrying  throng,  of  which 
but  yesterday  he  was  one,  half  dreaming  what  to  do,  the 


WALL   STKEET   SHALL   PATc    FOB  IT.  41 

pangs  of  failure  piercing  him,  the  spectre  of  want 
glaring  at  him,  suddenly,  as  if  himself  unconscious  of 
his  words,  he  blurted  out,—"  Wall  Street  has  ruined  me, 
and  Wall  Street  shall  pay  for  iff"  At  the  time,  the 
words  seemed  the  weak  ravings  of  a  mind  in  despair — a 
vain  boast  that  might  well  provoke  a  smile.  But  that  the 
threat  of  vengeance  has  been  well  redeemed  Wall  Street 
bitterly  knows  and  will  not  soon  forget.  Jena  was  not 
more  thoroughly  avenged  at  Sedan,  the  mortification  of 
Berlin  not  more  thoroughly  atoned  by  Bismarck  and 
the  troops  of  Fatherland  marching  in  triumph  through 
the  gates  of  Paris.  Nor  rests  Wall  Street  in  a  feeling 
pf  assurance  that  the  thirst  for  revenge  is  even  yet 
fully  sated.  At  the  moment  of  uttering  these  words  he  of 
course  had  as  little  idea  as  any  one  how  they  were  to  be 
made  good.  He  had  not  the  most  remote  conception  of 
any  plan  for  recuperating  his  broken  fortune  but,  genius- 
like,  confidence  of  a  power  within  him  to  do  it,  though 
vague,  was  there.  The  threat  was  hardly  cold  upon 
his  lips  ere  he  bade  adieu — "for* a  season" — to  the 
threatened  street,  packed  a  carpet  bag,  which  sufficed  his 
purpose  now,  and  started  for  Boston,  aimless  except  to 
get  away  from  the  scene  of  his  disaster. 

On  this  journey  to  "  the  Hub "  the  victim  of  Wall 
Street  did  not  sit  in  moody  silence  moaning  to  himself 
over  his  bleeding  wounds  but  presented  an  unruffled  sur- 
face as  though  everything  was  all  right,  mingled  in  con- 
versation with  his  usual  spirits  and  puns,  and  made 


42  A    CAR 

chance  acquaintances  as  every  one  does  when  travelling 
Among  those  -with  whom  ho  thus  got  to  talking  was  a 
young  man  who  seemed  sorely  troubled  and  dejected. 
Perhaps  it  was  animal  magnetism  that  drew  the  two  to-  ~ 
gether,  for  however  calm  the  surface  with  the  late  opera- 
tor in  stocks  ho  was  probably  somewhat  bilious  down  in 
tho  depths.  The  two  spirits  naturally  waxed  communi- 
cative, and  soon  tho  young  stranger  told  his  story.  He 
proved  to  be  one  of  tho  quite  numerous  class  of  pitiable 
mortals  that  nearly  everybody  has  seen  something  of — a 
man  laboring  in  distress  with  tho  elephant  of  a  patent 
on  his  hands  and  brain.  Ho  had  invented  it,  got  it 
patented,  and  spent  all  his  own  means  and  as  much 
more  as  ho  could  borrow,  endeavoring  to  get  it  before 
tho  public  and  reap  tho  fortune  ho  had  dreamed 
would  surely  flow  to  him  from  it.  He,  too,  was  going 
back  to  his  home,  dejected  and  crest-fallen,  for  his 
enterprise  had  been  ill-starred,  his  exertions  and  ex- 
penditures had  nil  been  in  vain,  and  the  dreams  that 
had  sustained  and  lured  him  on  so  long  had  now  all  van- 
ished, and  ho  must  carry  disappointment  to  those  who 
had  helped  him.  Like  all  men  with  patents,  he  was 
ready  and  eager  to  explain  its  great  merits  and  value  and 
talk  about  it  and  nothing  else  as  long  as  any  ono  would 
listen.  Ho  explained  its  nature  and  utility  to  his  fellow 
miserable,  who  listened  attentively,  at  first  because  he 
was  quite  as  eager  to  forget  his  own  sorrows  as  the  young 
patentee  was  to  expatiate  upon  his,  but  very  soon  because 


A    PATENT.  48 

a  sudden  ray  of  light  beamed  upon  his  vision.  Mr.  Fisk 
saw  at  once  that  the  patent  -was  of  value, and  that  the 
young  man's  dreams  of  the  fortune  there  was  in  it  had 
been  far  from  baseless ;  but,  strange  to  say,  ho  did  not 
give  his  new  acquaintance  the  consolation  of  suspecting 
this  now-born  conviction.  However,  ho  induced  tho  do- 
jected  spirit  to  go  pn  to  Boston  instead  of  stopping  at 
homo,  philanthropically  encouraging  him  to  hope  that 
they  might  possibly  pick  up  eome  greenhorn  there  who 
could  bo  wheedled  into  giving  a  littlo  something  for  it, 
and  whatever  ho  could  get  now  would  be  so  much  clear 
gain  of  course,  as  he  was  going  homo  to  throw  it  up 
entirely.  Arrived  at  their  journey's  end,  the  young  man 
gladly  disposed  of  hiss  patent-right  for  a  comparative 
trifle  and  went  home  somewhat  less  heavy  hearted.  The 
purchaser  that  had  been  wheedled  into  buying  it  was 
not,  however,  so  much  of  a  greenhorn  as  might  be.  Fisk 
nudged  the  young  inventor  in  the  ribs  and  chuckled  with, 
him  over  tho  sharp  manner  in  which  they  had  duped 
somo  unwary  wight  and  when  ho  had  got  him  to  feeling 
nicely  ho  left  him  and  hurried  away  to  reap  the  benefit  of 
the  large  interest  which  ho  had  taken  good  care  to  securo 
to  himself.  Tho  patent  was  a  small  improvement  of  great 
utility  and  extensive  application  in  machinery  used  in  cot- 
ton and  woolen  mills,  proved  to  bo  of  immense  practical 
and  pecuniary  value,  and  brought  the  now  owners  a  hand- 
some income. 

The  downward  tide  in  Mr.  Fisk'a  fortunes  was  stemmed. 


44  HE    MEETS   DANIEL    DBEW. 

Confidence  and  courage  were  replenished,  and  with  the 
possession  Once  more  of  capital  sufficient  for  quite  exten- 
sive operations  on  a  margin,  his  longing  turned  to  Wall 
Street  again.  But  before  starting  back  he  learned  tliat 
some  parties  in  Boston  were  desirous  of  buying  the  Bris- 
tol line  of  steamers  running  on  Long  Island  Sound.  It 
occurred  to  him  that  he  might  turn  this  circumstance  to 
some  account  for  himself  and  this  was  the  pretext  of  his 
next  visit  to  New  Tort.  His  first  business  was  to  secure 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  president  of  the  company 
owning  the  coveted  line  of  steamers.  This  he  readily  pro- 
cured and  presented.  The  person  to  whom  he  was  thus 
introduced  was  the  celebrated  Daniel  Drew.  But  for  this 
meeting  the  world  would  probably  never  have  heard  of 
James  Fisk,  Jr.  That  event  constitutes  the  most  promi- 
nent and  important  landmark  in  his  life  and  turned  his 
career  into  the  course  that  has  conducted  him  to  his  pres- 
ent position.  The  presidency  of  the  Bristol  Line  Steam- 
boat Company  was  but  one  small  bob  on  the  Drew  kite. 
Already  past  his  three  score  and  ten,  he  wore  the  scars  of 
many  fierce  battles,  some  of  which  were  still  fresh  and 
scarcely  cicatrized.  Born  a  farmer's  boy,  at  Carmel,  on  the 
Harlem  road,  he  had  been  successively  a  drover,  proprie- 
tor of  the  Bull's  Head  Tavern  (of  great  fame  in  the  olden 
time),  and  a  large  owner  in  steamship  enterprises.  In  this 
last  character  he  came  into  contact  with  Vanderbilt  and  the 
two  had  since  been  life-long  rivals.  He  had  been  the 
Commodore^  great  antagonist  in  the  then  recent  Harlem 


TH*  "S-rtCtfLATTVlf  DtfiWrrSB."  45 


"  corners  "  —  the  pioneer  coups-de-main  in  WaH*  Street 
stock  jobbing  operations,  and  in  these  had  been  badly 
worsted  by  his  veteran  foe.  He  was  now  the  great  Mogul 
of  Erie  —  one  of  its  directors,  its  treasurer,  its  sole  manipu- 
lator, the  first  to  use  his  position  to  gamble  in  the  stock  of 
his  own  corporation,  already  dubbed  the  "  speculative  direc- 
tor," and  the  acknowledged  leader  of  Wall  Street's  "  bear" 
brigade.  Drew  was  much  pleased  with  his  new  acquaint- 
ance,  was  quite  surprised  and  fascinated  with  the  grand 
and  liberal  ideas  which  the  young  man  very  freely  ventil- 
ated on  the  question  of  steamships  and  affairs  generally, 
and  immediately  authorized  him  to  act  as  his  agent  in 
negotiating  the  sale  of  the  Bristol  steamers.  This  trust 
was  executed  in  a  manner  that  confirmed  and  heightened 
the  old  gentleman's  first  impressions  and  gave  him  entire 
satisfaction  at  the  same  time  that  it  put  a  nice  little  sum 
into  the  skillful  agent's  pocket  as  his  commission  for  con- 
ducting the  transfer. 

Mr.  Fisk  now  looked  upon  Wall  Street  as  his  headquar- 
ters again,  but  as  he  had  learned  that  the  game  there  was 
played  with  stacked  cards  and  loaded  dice  he  sagely  con- 
cluded it  would  be  much  safer  to  have  a  finger  in  the 
stacking  business  or  be  privy  to  its  manner,  and  make 
himself  master  of  the  magic  cubes,  instead  of  having  them 
played  on  him  again.  He  is  not  to  be  caught  twice  in  the 
same  trap.  He  had  seen  those  "  twenty-four  jacks  "  fall 
out  of  Ah  Sin's  sleeves  in  their  first  hand  of  euchre  and 
he  was  not  going  to  sit  down  to  the  game  again  till  he 


46  DKEW'S    GKBAT    CAHPAIGH. 

had  a, pair  of  sleeves  just  like  Ah  Sin's— only  a  little 
larger — and  they  should  be  well  filled  with  right  bowers. 
Drew,  in  the  first  flush  of  his  admiration  for  the  young 
man's  bearing,  spoke  the  necessary  words  of  encourage- 
ment, and  shortly  after  the  sign  of  a  new  firm  of  brokers 
appeared  bearing  the  firm  name  of  Fisk  &  Belde.n.  They 
made  a  specialty  of  dealing  in  Erie  and  soon  became 
known  among  the  fraternity  as  Drew's  brokers.  The 
head  of  the  firm  being  a  special  favorite,  confidant  and 
protege  of  the  crafty  director  and  treasurer,  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  he  was  privy  to  sufficient  information 
and  "  points  "  not  for  general  use,  to  enable  him  to  oper- 
ate on  his  own  account  with  all  desired  safety  and  make 
much  more  than  a  simple  commission  as  broker  for 
others.  It  was  in  the  spring  of  1866  that  Drew  exe- 
cuted his  first  great  master-stroke  in  bear  operations, 
inaugurating  a  system  of  manipulations  wholly  original 
and  unparalelled,  making  the  entire  bull  clique  writhe 
under  his  goad,  and  finally  strewing  the  pavement  with 
their  skulls  and  bones,  establishing  for  himself  an  endur- 
ing fame  in  the  history  and  traditions  of  Wall  Street. 
Fisk,  being  fully  behind  the  scenes  in  this  campaign, 
enjoyed  the  sport  immensely  and  turned  his  opportunity 
to  much  substantial  account.  He  was  immoderately 
amused  at.  the  mad  boundings  and  bello wings  of  the  ram- 
pant animals,  shook  a  red  flag  before  them  to  incito  them 
on  and  cried  "  Ilabet!  liabet!"  in  delight  as  his  uncle 
Daniel  poured  in  the  final  broadside  and  sent  them  reeling 


EX   LEAEHS    HOW    THE    WIRES    ARE    WORKED.  47 

to  the  ground.  This  was  an  excellent  school  for  the  apt 
pupil.  He  took  to  its  ways  with  a  readiness  that  showed 
a  genius  for  the  science.  The  briefest  period  of  tuition 
sufficed  to  make  him  master  of  its  entire  curriculum.  All 
tho  scales  having  now  fallen  from  his  eyes,  he  resisted 
a  longer  pupilage  and  came  forward  at  once  as  a  profes- 
sor. Having  caught  the  principle  and  spirit  of  the 
process  by  which  puppets  were  made  to  dance  on  the 
Wall  Street  stage,  he  immediately  saw  that  many  im- 
provements could  be  made  in  the  modus  operandi  of  his 
instructor  and  felt  he  could  play  upon  the  magic  keys 
much  more  deftly  than  he  saw  it  done  by  the  fingers 
clumsy  in  size  and  stiffened  by  the  toils  and  chills  of  more 
than  three  score  and  ten  winters.  His  subsequent  career 
speaks  for  the  close  attention  he  paid  during  his  brief 
term  of  schooling,  and  no  one  can  testify  better  than  the 
teacher  how  thoroughly  the  lesson  was  learned  both  in 
letter  and  spirit,  for  the  pupil  soon  repaid  the  debt  of 
gratitude,  principal  and  interest,  to  his  instructor  by 
teaching  him  in  turn  many  tricks  at  his  own  trade.  But 
the  improvements  were  of  a  nature  requiring  a  cunning 
of  hand  which  the  veteran  director  could  not  hope  to 
conjure  in  his  weight  of  years,  and  it  is  more  than 
doubtful  if  the  instructor  feels  at  all  proud  of  his  pupil, 
accurately  as  he  has  followed  instructions  and  brilliant  as 
his  exploits  flowing  therefrom  have  been,  for  the  teach- 
ings were  returned  in  a  practical  way  that  was  not  highly 
appreciated,  though  its  force  was  acknowledged.  When 


*8  L  HILLIONAIJUS. 

the  .pupil  had  once  seen  how  the  cards  were  stacked  he 
brought  to  the  work  such  rare  manual  skill  that  he  stacked 
them  under  his  instructor's  very  eyes  without  his  seeing 
it  and  played  them  upon  him  before  he  was  aware  of  it. 
After  this  had  been  repeated  a  few  times,  the  old  gentle- 
man rose  from  the  table,  offended  at  this  disrespect  for 
his  years  and  refused  to  play  any  more.  He  now  stands 
a  looker  on  at  the  table  at  which  he  was  once  master  ,and, 
with  hands  folded  behind  him,  he  gazes  with  an  expres- 
sion of  mute  curiosity  at  the  grace  and  dexterity  with 
which  his  pupil  shuffles  the  cards  and  throws  the  dice. 

With  wind  and  tide  both  in  his  favor,  Mr.  Fisk  very 
soon  recovered  what  he  had  involuntarily  lent  to  Wall 
Street,  and  it  was  but  a  few  months  before  the  man  who 
had  lost  his  last  dollar  again  had  a  bank  account  of  over 

a  milHnn. 

irr  TT 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"SHORT  AND  LOITO" — "BTTLLS  AND    BEABS" — "OPTIOK"— 

"  COBKEB  " "  MABGIN  " "  CABBYING  " GOLD    EXCHANGE 

BANE THE  GOLD  BOOH. 

Wall  Street  has  a  dialect  peculiar  to  itself,  concise  and 
expressive,  but  utterly  unintelligible  to  the  uninitiated. 
Some  of  the  terms  are  quite  familiar  to  many  who  yet 
have  but  a  vague  idea  of  their  exact  meaning.  As  an  ac- 
curate understanding  of  the  terms  employed  and  some  of 
the  machinery  used  by  brokers  will  be  necessary  to  an  in- 
telligent reading  of  some  of  the  following  chapters,  a  brief 
elucidation  may  not  be  unwelcome  to  some  into  whose 
hands  these  pages  may  fall. 

Suppose  the  stock  of  a  certain  railroad  is  selling  to- 
day at  $90  a  share.  A,  for  reasons  known  to  himself, 
thinks  the  price  is  going  to  fall  soon.  He  meets  B  who 
thinks,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  price  is  going  up.  A 
owns  none  of  the  stock  at  present,  but  he  agrees  to  deliver 
B  100  shares  at  90  sometime  within  10,  20,  30  or  60  days. 
A  has  now  gone  "short"  of  the  stock,  i.  e.,  he  is  under 


50  THE   PBINCIPLB   OF   STOCK    SPECULATIONS. 

obligation  to  deliver  at  a  future  day,  and  for  a  fixed  price, 
stock  that  ho  does  not  now  possess;  and  B  has  gone 
"  long,"  i,  e.,  ho  is  under  obligation  to  take  tho  stock  at  a 
future  day  at  a  price  already  agreed  upon.  The  two 
terms  are  correlative,  the  one  always  implying  the  other, 
it  being  impossible  for  one  man  to  go  "short"  till  he 
meets  another  who  will  go  "long." 

Of  course  A's  design  is  to  wait  till  the  stock  has  fallen, 
say  to  85,  then  buy  a  hundred  shares  at  that  price,  carry 
them  to  B  and  make  him  take  them  as  agreed  upon  at 
90,  and  clear  $500  by  the  operation.  B's  design  is  to 
wait  till  the  stock  has  risen,  say  to  95,  then  call  on  A  to 
deliver  the  100  shares  at  90,  as  agreed  upon,  sell  them  at 
95  and  clear  $500  dollars  by  the  operation.  The  essence 
of  the  whole  matter  is,  A  bets  tho  stock  will  fall  and  B 
bets  it  will  rise,  the  amount  of  the  bet  being  left  to  be  de- 
termined by  the  amount  of  fluctuation  in  the  stated  time. 
And  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  often,  if  not  generally,  happens 
that  none  of  the  stock  is  ever  bought  at  all,  but  one  simply 
pays  to  the  other  the  difference  in  price  at  the  two  dates. 
Thus  if  the  stock  falls,  A  does  not  buy  100  shares,  pay 
$8,500  therefor,  take  them  to  B  and  get  $9,000  for  them, 
but  B  simply  pays  A  $500,  the  sum  he  would  make  by  the 
operation — what  has  turned  out  to  be  the  amount  of  the 
bet,  As  B  entered  into  the  contract  only  on  speculation 
and  not  because  he  wanted  to  keep  the  stock  as  an  invest- 
ment, he  would  only  have  to  sell  it  again  at  the  lower  rate, 
and  all  this  useless  trouble  of  two  actual  purchases,  trans- 


BULLS    AKD    BEAE9.  51 

fers  and  deliveries  is  avoided  and  the  same  result  attained 
by  simply  paying  A  the  amount  he  -would  make. 

When  such  an  agreement  has  been  entered  into,  of 
course  it  is  for  A's  interest  that  there  should  be  a  fall  in 
the  stock  of  which  he  is  short,  for  the  greater  the  fall  the 
greater  will  be  his  profit,  and  therefore  he,  now  exerts 
himself  to  make  it  fall.  Ho  represents  the  stock  as  a  bad 
one  to  invest  in ;  hints  that  there  is  going  to  be  an  oppo- 
sition road  built,  so  the  stock  will  soon  pay  smaller  divi- 
dends or  no  dividends,  and  greatly  decrease  in  value  ;  that 
the  road  is  being  badly  managed,  its  officers  are  dishonest, 
using  it  for  their  own  personal  ends,  and  there  is  danger 
of  its  becoming  bankrupt ;  or  that  there  has  been  an  issue 
of  new  stock,  etc.,  etc.  Those  who  hear  and  believe  these 
rumors  naturally  become  afraid  of  the  stock,  are  anxious 
to  sell  it  if  they  own  any,  and  unwilling  to  buy.  It  thus 
becomes  plenty  in  the  market,  is  depressed  and  falls. 
A  in  such  a  case  is  said  to  "bear"  the  stock  or  be  a 
"bear."  It  being  for  B's  interest  that  the  stock  should 
rise,  he  sets  to  work  circulating  rumors  of  just  the  oppo- 
site nature  and  influence,  endeavoring  to  make  the  stock 
attractive  and  in  great  demand.  He  is  then  said  to 
"bull"  the  market  or  be  a  "bull."  Therefore  a  man 
who  has  gone  "short"  is  naturally  by  interest  a  "bear" 
and  a  man  who  has  gone  "  long  "  is  naturally  by  interest 
a  "bull." 

When  A  and  B  have  made  an  agreement  as  supposed 
it  often  makes  a  great  difference  which  one  of  them  has 


52  omoir. 

the  right  of  demanding  its  fulfilment  any  day  within  the 
limit.  For  if  A  agrees  to  deliver  the  stock  within  30 
days  and  it  should  fall  rapidly  in  the  first  five  days  and 
get  as  low  as  he  thinks  it  will  go,  he  will  buy  at  this  low 
price  and,  if  he  has  the  right  of  choosing  the  day  for  car- 
rying out  the  agreement,  he  will  force  B  to  take  it  the  day 
on  which  it  is  lowest;  whereas,  if  B  has  the  right  of 
choosing  the  day,  he  will  wait  in  the  hope  that  the  stock 
will  rise  again  during  the  remaining  25  days  and  will 
call  on  A  to  deliver  on  the  day  when  it  is  selling  highest. 
The  transaction  must  be  closed  on  the  last  day  of  the 
limit.  This  right  of  choosing  the  day  is  called  the 
"  option."  It  is  always  settled  at  the  time  of  making  the 
agreement  who  has  the  ''option"  and  it  often  makes  a 
great  difference  in  the  price  whether  the  buyer  gives  or 
takes  it  Of  course  A  can  buy  when  the  stock  is  low, 
though  the  option  is  against  him,  and  hold  the  stock  till 
B  calls  for  it  In  such  a  case  he  is  said  to  "  cover  his 
shorts." 

As  a  man  who  sells  short  has  none  of  the  stock  at  the 
time  of  contracting  for  its  future  delivery,  it  is  easily 
possible  that  contracts  may  be  entered  into  for  the  deliv- 
ery of  a  greater  number  of  shares  than  can  possibly  be 
had,  or  even  than  there  are  in  existence.  A  shrewd 
operator  may  easily  find  a  hundred  men  each  of  whom 
will  go  short  a  thousand  shares ;  he  makes  a  contract 
with  each  without  any  of  the  others  suspecting  it  and  he 
will  thus  have  contracts  out  for  the  delivery  to  him  of 


COBNEB.  53 

100,000  shares  of  the  stock  within  30  days  when,  it  may 
be,  there  are  but  50,000  shares  in  existence.  He  now 
buys  up  the  stock  as  quietly  as  possible  at  the  present  low 
price  and  before  any  of  the  shorts  are  covered  or  any  one 
suspects  what  is  going  on,  he  may  have  the  whole  50,000 
shares  locked  up  in  his  own  safe.  Men  suddenly  find 
that  not  a  single  share  of  the  stock  is  to  be  had  in  the 
market  at  any  price  and  yet  contracts  are  out  for  the 
delivery  of  100,000  shares.  The  operator  now  has  the 
shorts  in  what  is  called  a  "corner."  They  must  satisfy 
their  contracts  or  fail.  Stock  cannot  be  had  to  fulfill  the 
agreements,  therefore  they  must  make  the  best  terms 
they  can  to  be  let  off  from  their  contracts.  They  are 
wholly  in  the  operator's  power  and  his  demands  will  be 
limited  only  by  what  he  deems  the  utmost  each  can  pay 
without  failing. 

The  capital  required  in  manipulating  such  a  plot  being 
very  large,  there  are  but  few  single  individuals  of  sufficient 
means  to  manage  a  "  corner  "  operation  alone,  but  combi- 
nations of  several  men  are  often  formed  for  the  purpose, 
each  contributing  his  means  to  a  general  fund  to  be  used 
in  the  operation  and  sharing  a  proportionate  part  of  the 
proceeds.  Such  a  combination  is  called  a  "pool." 

When  a  man  directs  a  broker  to  buy  stock  for  him  he 
does  not  supply  the  broker  with  money  to  the  full  value 
of  the  stock,  but  only  a  certain  per  cent,  thereon — 5,  10  or 
20  per  cent,  as  the  case  may  be — so  much  as  is  deemed 
•ufficient  to  cover  any  probable  fall  in  the  price.  Thejt>«r 


54  HA.  ROUT. 

cent,  thus  deposited  -with  the  broker  is  called  a  "  margin," 
it  being  the  range  or  margin  over  which  the  price  may 
fluctuate  without  risk  to  the  broker.  The  rest  of  the  money 
or  credit  needed  is  furnished  by  the  broker,  who  charges 
interest  thereon,  keeps  the  stock  in  his  own  hands  as  se- 
curity and  is  said  to  "  carry  "  it  for  his  customer.  By  this 
means  a  man  with  only  five  or  ten  thousand  dollars  can 
operate  with  a  capital  of  a  hundred  thousand,  and  a  man 
with  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  can  operate  with  a  capi- 
tal of  two  millions.  Herein  lies  the  great  temptation  to 
indulge  in  such  speculations  and  the  whole  secret  of  the 
great  power  which  a  few  men,  or  even  a  single  man,  can 
exert  in  such  matters. 

An  active  broker  often  buys  or  sells  the  same  stock 
or  gold  several  times  the  same  day.  One  customer  directs 
him  to  buy  and  he  buys ;  another  directs  him  to  sell  and 
he  sells.  If  a  stock  rises  rapidly  the  customer  who  buys 
early  in  the  morning  may  sell  again  in  an  hour  or  less ; 
if  it  falls  rapidly  the  man  who  sells  in  the  morning  may 
buy  again  in  a  few  minutes.  Fluctuations  in  the  price 
are  often  so  rapid  that  a  man  may  buy  and  sell  the  same 
hundred  shares  of  stock  or  the  same  lot  of  gold  half  a 
dozen  times  in  as  many  Sours,  making  a  handsome  profit 
at  every  turn.  This  would  make  a  great  deal  of  work 
and  require  many  clerks  in  a  broker's  office  if  there  was 
an  actual  transfer  of  thp  stock  and  gold  in  every  tran- 
saction. To  simplify  and  facilitate  this  work,  an  institu- 
tion to  which  all,  brokers  belong  has  been  established  to 


DEALING   BT    BALANCES.  55 

manage  this  part  of  the  business  and  superintend  all  the 
actual  transfers  of  property.  As  soon  as  a  broker  buys, 
he  sends  a  notice  of  the  transaction  to  this  institu- 
tion. Five  minutes  after,  ho  sells  either  the  same  or 
another  stock  or  lot  of  gold  and  immediately  sends  the 
institution  a  notice  of  this  transaction.  And  so  on 
through  the  whole  day  till  a  quarter  past  two  o'clock, 
•when  transactions  through  the  institution  close  for  the 
day.  A  statement  of  all  the  purchases  and  sales  of  the 
day  is  now  mado  out  and  balanced  and  handed  in  to  the 
institution.  If  the  amount  of  the  purchases  exceeds  the 
amount  of  the  sales,  the  broker  pays  tho  institution  the 
difference ;  if  the  sales  exceed  the  purchases  in  amount, 
tho  institution  pays  the  broker  the  difference ;  if  tho  two 
aro  just  equal,  all  his  transactions  for  tho  day,  amount- 
ing, it  may  be,  to  many  millions,  aro  completed  by  simply 
balancing  tho  two  sides  of  tho  account  and  without  one 
cent  having  been  used  by  him  in  tho  operation.  By  this 
means  tho  samo  stock  or  gold  may  bo  sold  a  hundred 
times  during  the  day  and  yet  there  will  bo  only  one 
actual  transfer  of  it.  A  starts  the  transactions,  selling 
to  B  ;  B  sells  to  C,  C  to  D,  and  so  on  through  tho  whole 
alphabet  till  the  close  of  the  day ;  then  A,  the  first  seller, 
hands  it  into  the  institution  and  Z,  the  last  purchaser, 
draws  it  out.  All  the  others  have  both  bought  and  sold 
it,  therefore  it  is  only  necessary  for  them  to  balance  their 
accounts  and  settle  the  difference. 

This  arrangement,   which    renders  neocessary  capital 


56  THE  GOLD  EXCHANGE  BANK. 

equal  only  to  the  difference  in  the  two  sides  of  all  the 
accounts  for  the  day,  supplements  the  "  margin  "  and  is  to 
the  broker  what  the  "margin"  is  to  the  operator.  The 
two  form  a  system  of  compound  leverage  by  which  a  hun- 
dred dollars  is  made  to  move  a  million,  or  any  amount,  the 
principle  being  the  same  as  that  which  justified  the  boast 
of  Archimedes  that  he  would  move  the  world  if  any  one 
would  give  him  a  place  to  stand  on.  It  was  by  this 
system  of  paying  only  the  balance  of  their  accounts  that 
it  was  possible  for  the  dealings  of  the  gold  brokers  to 
amount  to  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  on  Black 
Friday  when  there  was  .not  in  reality  twenty  millions  of 
gold  among  all  the  brokers  in  New  Tork. 

The  stock  and  gold  brokers  have  separate  clearing 
houses  or  institutions  for  effecting  their  clearances,  i.  e., 
superintending  the  transfer  and  settlement  of  the  bal- 
ances. That  of  the  stock  brokers  is  called  the  New  Tork 

Stock  Exchange,  and  that  of  the  gold  brokers  the  Gold 

<TJ,_  °  '  7   i™  e> 

Exchange  Bank. 

It  is  important  to  note  that  the  dealings  of  the  brokers 
are  so  interlaced,  as  they  appear  at  the  clearances,  jthat  if 
any  one  firm  fails  to  hand  in  a  statement  of  its  trans- 
actions the  whole  machinery  may  be  clogged  up  and  the 
clearing  house  unable  to  proceed  with  its  work.  The 
following  is  an  actual  statement  of  the  transactions  of  the 
firm  of  Smith,  Gould  (Jay  Gould)  &  Martin  on  Black 
Friday: 


THE    GOLD    EXCHANGE    BANK. 


67 


Received  from — 
Win.  Heath  &  Co. 
White,  Morris  &  Co. 
Dakin  Gillespie 
E.  K.  Willard 
Hodgskm,Randall  &  Co. 
Budge,  Schiff  &  Co. 
Cushman  &  Hurlburfc . 
8.  R.  Jacobs 
Lange,  Bolle  &  Aiming 
Dean,  Maginnis  &  Co. 
M.  Morgan's  Sons 
Foster  &  Randall 
J.  W.  Seligman  &  Co. 
Hallgarten  &  Co 
Domett  &  Nichols 
B.  Hall&  Young 
G.  H.  &  H.  Redmond 
W.  C.  Mumford 
Meyer  &  Grave 
Kennedy  &  Hutchinson 
Robinson,  Cox  &  Co 
Lees  &  Waller 
Reed,  Leo  &  Content 
Hagen  &  Billing 
E.  H:  Bicdermean 
Q.  P.  Persch 
Robert  Waller 
Stout  Thayer 


Here  were  fifty-one  different  transactions  by  one  firm  rn. 
a  single  day,  amounting  to  §28,149,600  and  they  were  all 
adjusted,  so  far  as  this  firm  was  concerned,  by  the  single 
act  of  drawing  from  the  bank  $13,151,000  in  gold  and 
handing  in  a  check  for  the  currency"  value  thereof.  Now 


m  — 

Delivered  to— 

$6,210,000 

Lockwood  &  Co.         .      $10,000 

.      400,000 

Stout  Thayer         Jli1;o;    20,000 

.      984,000 

Dzondi,  Springer  &  Co.      50,000 

.    5,845,000 

Carver  &  Co.               .      430,000 

Co.     50,000 

Gibson  &  Beadleston  .        75,000 

.      300,000 

B.  K.  Stevens,  Jr.,      .        25,000 

50,000 

Lounsberry  &  Fanshaw  1,700,000 

.      100,000 

Fanshaw  &  Milliken  .      300,000 

ag      50,000 

Haligarten  &  Co.       .        3.5,000 

>.        95,000 

Kamlah,  Sauer  &  Co.       134,000 

20,000 

Parker,  Bros.  &  Geston        15,000 

20,000 

Fellows*  Co.         T.  J.  15,000 

>.      225,000 

Cunningham  &  Mead.        85,000 

.      200,000 

Maxwell  &  Graves      .        30,000 

10,000 

Norton,  Haughtou  &  Co.  50,000 

.      500,000 

Tansing,  Fisher  &  Co.        90,000 

a      875,000 

N.  R.  Travers           ..        50,000 

50,000 

Grey,  Prince  &  Co.1    .  1,245,000 

.      200,000 

Chapin,  Bowen  &  Day  2,915,000 

son   100,000 

Wm.  Heath  &  Co.      .      200,000 

30,000 

Cushman  «fc  Hurlburt.        25,000 

.    1,015,000 

i  ainM-..-.-  $7,499,000 

.      200,000 

Coin  dua  dealer           13,151,000 

.      735,000 

$20,650,000 

.      655,000 

Ofl      I--VTCti!9     SISJZ     otJiW/OIft 

90,000 

:,  bar.  '~jx'-*  tr>bv',w  vbite;: 

$20,650,000 

r..r.:-    iy.ft^vIilKi.ri.a  tfloh 

58  THE    GOLD    BOOK. 

if  (as  actually  happened)  this  firm  failed  to  hand  in  this 
statement  the  clearing  house  -would  be  unable  to  adjust 
the  accounts  of  any  one  of  the  nearly  fifty  firms  appearing 
therein,  and  as  each  of  these  firms  would  have  trans- 
actions with  many  others,  the  whole  machinery  of  settling 
must  come  to  a  standstill  till  the  statement  of  every  one 
is  in. 

For  its  services  in  effecting  these  clearances  the  Gold 
Exchange  Bank  receives  ten  cents  for  every  $10,000 
cleared.  This  may  seem  a  ridiculously  small  commission 
at  first,  but  when  it  appears  that  the  average  annual 
amount  of  clearances  has  been  about  $20,000,000,000 
and  that  even  at  this  small  commission  the  bank  has 
received  in  the  neighborhood  of  $200,000  annually  for 
its  services,  the  remuneration  does  not  seem  quite  so 
ridiculously  small. 

The  (Jold  Room  is  the  place  where  the  gold  brokers 
meet  at  certain  hours  of  the  day  to  buy  and  sell,  the 
price  then  paid  being  officially  recorded  and  forming  the 
"  quotations  "  for  the  day.  It  is  a  dingy,  dismal  room  of 
moderate  size,  entered  from  New  Street  by  narrow, 
untidy  wooden  stairs  and  quite  disappoints  the  expecta- 
tions naturally  formed  from  the  fame  of  its  doings.  On 
one  side  is  a  large  clock^  over  :rwhich  isr  the  indicator 
showing,  in  large  figures  moved  by  telegraphic  wires,  the 
price  at  which  gold  is  selling.  On  the  opposite  side  is  a 
gallery  for  spectators  and  such  as  have  not  the  counter- 
sign that  secures  admission  within  the  exclusive  circle. 


THE    GOLD    BOOH.  59 

The  body  of  the  floor  is  an  amphitheatre,  i.  e.,  in  the 
form  of  a  circle  and  descending  gradually  by  steps  from 
the  outside  towards  the  centre.  A  circle  in  the  centre, 
about  eight  feet  in  diameter,  is  surrounded  by  a  strong 
iron  railing  enclosing  a  fountain.  Tho  design  of  this 
ornament  is  quite  unique,  being  a  bronze  statuette  stand- 
ing upon  huge  oyster- gftiells  -and  hugging  a  dolphin  to  its 
breast;  a  jet  of  water  constantly  spouts  from  the  dol- 
phin's mouth,  falls  back  upon  tho  bronze  and  babbles 
down  into  tho  reservoir  at  tho  base — tho  whole  consti- 
tuting, a  forcible  and  fitting  satire  upon  tho  life  and 
doings  of  the  men  who  daily  crowd  around  it  and  deport 
themselves  in  a  manner  vividly  suggestive  of  Babel, 
Bedlam  and  pandemonium  united. 

It  was  this  small  circular  pit  that  constituted  the  most 
sensitive  pulse  of  the  nation  during  the  trying  days  of  the 
rebellion.  It  was  here  that  the  news  of  Bull  Run  and  the 
Chickahominy,  Gettysburg  and  the  Wilderness,  was  most 
quickly  felt.  At  this  point  was  dropped  the  pebbles  that 
started  the  magic  waves  which  broke  only  on  the  limits 
of  the  nation.  It  was  the  yells  of  the  men  surging  within 
this  circle,  shouting  and  gesticulating  like  maniacs,  that 
determined  the  figures  so  eagerly  scanned  from  each 
morning's  news  as  it  reached  tho  remotest  hamlet.  Here 
still  these  men  keep  up  a  fitful  losing  battle  to  prolong 
their  calling,  though  the  circumstances  that  gave  it  being 
and  some  small  elements  of  usefulness  have  long  since 
passed  away. 


CHAPTEE  V.i-iJa? 


J  BBIE  DJ3UBCTOB  —  ^HOW  THE  SLATE  WAS  MADE  TIP  —  FISK  AND 
GOULD  MEET  -  A  POOL  SOLD  OUT  -  VANDEKBILT  BOUSED  - 
A  BATCH  OF  BAENAKD'S  INJUNCTIONS—  COUNTERBLAST  FB.OM 
BKOOKLYN-  —  TEN  MILLIONS  OF  NEW  STOCK  SECEETLT  ISSUED 
-  VANDERBILT  TRAPPED  AND  DREW  BITTEN  -  FLEEINO  THE 

STATE. 


Mr.  Fisk  first  became  officially  connected  with  the  Erie 
Railway  on  the  8th  of  October,  1867,  being  chosen  a 
director  at  the  annual  election  held  on  that  day.  The 
campaign  for  this  ejection  opened  with  three  parties  in 
the  field.  The  officers  in  control  of  the  road,  headed  by 
Drew,  sought  reelection.  With  this  party  Mr.  Fisk  was 
identified.  Next  came  Vanderbilt,  who,  having  made 
himself  absolute  and  undisputed  master  of  the  Harlem, 
Hudson  River  and  N.  Y.  Central  roads,  now  sought  to 
grasp  control  of  Erie  in  like  manner,  that  he  might  have 
despotic  sway  over  all  the  roads  connecting  New  York 
with  the  great  lakes  and  make  himself  practical  dictator 
of  the  material  interests  of  the  commercial  metropolis. 
The  third  party  was  headed  by  John  S.  Eldridge  and 


MAKING    UP    THE    SLATE.  .  &} 

composed  of  men  largely  interested  in  the  Boston, 
Hartford  &  Erie  road — a  line  running  from  Boston 
through  Connecticut  and  New  York  to  FishkiU,  where  it 
meets  a  branch  of  Erie.  This  corporation  was  in  a 
desperate  struggle  for  existence  and  was  in  bad  financial 
odor.  The  Massachusetts  Legislature  had  voted  to  assist 
the  company  to  the  sum  of  $3,000,000  provided  it  would 
raise  an  additional  sum  of  $4,000,000  elsewhere.  The 
laudable  purpose  of  this  third  party  was  to  gain  a  con- 
trolling voice  in  the  Erie  councils  in  order  to  get  this 
corporation  to  assist  them  to  the  much-desired 
$4,000,000.  Under  the  Eldridge  banner  Jay  Gould  was 
training. 

At  these  elections  each  share  of  stock  entitles  the 
holder  to  one  vote,  consequently  a  party  must  control  a 
majority  of  the  stock  in  order  to  carry  the  election.  With 
three  parties  competing  for  possession,  there  was  a  fine 
prospect  of  a  rapid  and  extraordinary  rise  in  the  stock, 
promising  a  lively  time  and  a  rich  harvest  for  the  brokers, 
operators,  and  owners  of  Erie.  But  before  the  contending 
chiefs  had  marshalled  their  forces  and  mounted  their 
heavy  guns  for  this  great  triangular  battle,  the  Eldridge 
party  resorted  to  diplomacy  and  secured  a  coalition  with 
Yanderbilt.  These  two  factions  agreed  to  unite  their 
forces  in  ousting  Drew  and  electing  a  board  of  directors 
that  would  manage  the  road  so  as  to  secure  both  their 
interests.  They  knew  that  their  united  power  made  their 
victory  certain  in  a  square  fight ;  but  they  also  knew  very 


62  XAKIA'G    UP    THE    8LATB. 

•\rell  that  it  would  not  be  a  square  fight  if  Drew  was  left 
•with  his  peculiar  fertility  of  resource  untrammelled. 
They  remembered  the  ingenious  device  by  which  he  had 
supplied  himself  with  58,000  shares  of  Erie  stock  to  meet 
•an  emergency  the  year  before  and  they  knew  the  same 
convenient  machinery  would  be  made  to  do  service  again 
and  grind  out  any  desired  number  of  shares  at  the  proper 
crisis  and  thus,  after  relieving  them  of  several  millions  of 
their  money,  rob  them  of  victory  at  the  last  moment.  To 
guard  against  this  favorite  spe.cies  of  Drew  tactics  they 
resolved  to  invoke  the  majesty  of  the  law.  The  necessary 
preliminary  affidavits  and  papers  were  made  out  prepara- 
tory to  obtaining  an  injunction  that  should  effectively 
prevent  Drew  from  using  at  the  election  or  in  the  market 

a  single  share  of  stock  beyond   the  already  authorized 

•-L  i    i    i     f  ,1     •  rrir. )  <"f  v'irrn  u'C 
capital  stock  ot  the  company. 

In  this  position  stood  matters  the  Sunday  before  the 
election.  On  that  day  Drew,  as  if  troubled  with  premo- 
nitions of  approaching  discomfiture,  called  npon  Vander- 
bilt  at  his  residence.  The  Commodore  kindly  entertained 
his  caller  by  relating  to  him  the  arrangements  made  to 
compass  his  overthrow  and  complacently  read  for  his 
edification  the  legal  documents  that  were  to  bo  used  for 
his  special  behoof  the  next  morning.  Drew  seeing  at 
once  that  the  elements  were  getting  too  strong  for  him 
and  that  he  was  doomed  to  take  an  unwilling  leave  of  the 
helm  whereat  ho  had  stood  for  ten  years  and  retire  to  the 
quiet  life  of  his  native  Carmel  unless  he  could  effect  some 


UP    THK    SLATE.  68 

compromise,  and  being  ever  ready  to  do  anything  to  save 
and  serve  himself,  immediately  proposed  to  change  front 
entirely,  abandon  his  chronic  antagonism  and  bear  oper- 
ations, unite  in  a  movement  for  running  Erie  up  as 
Harlem,  Hudson  River  and  Central  had  been  run  up 
before,  become  the  sworn  ally  of  his  life-long  rival  and 
serve  him  in  all  his  schemes,  on  the  sole  condition  of 
being  permitted  to  retain  his  position  as  director  and 
treasurer  of  Erie.  The  Commodore  was  entirely  dis- 
armed by  this  unexpected  tender  of  the  olive  branch. 
He  saw  this  would  relieve  many  millions  of  dollars  that 
else  must  be  used  in  getting  and  keeping  control  of  Erie 
and  he  knew  that  no  other  ally  could  i  serve  him  so  well. 
Besides,  there  may  have  been  a  touch  of  the  poetic  in 
feeling  reconciled  to  a  foe  after  long  years  of  warfare  and 
mutual  scars,  and  a  natural  affinity  and  preference  for 
an  ally  as  venerable  as  himself  in  years.  At  any  rate, 
without  the  slightest  regard  for  the  agreement  made  with 
the  Eldridge  party,  he  accepted  the  proposition  at  once, 
and  these  two  inveterate  enemies,  on  the  eve  of  another 
fierce  conflict,  struck  hands  over  the  altar  of  friendship, 
buried  the  past  and  coalesced  to  serve  each  other, 
unmindful  of  pledges  recently  made,  reckless  of  the 
interests  of  great  corporations  entrusted  to  their  care, 
indifferent  to  the  rights  of  the  (to  them)  somewhat  vague 
and  mythical  entity,  the  public.  Beautiful  is  it  to  wit- 
ness in  declining  years  such  reconciliations  of  the  feuds  of 
along  life!  But  the  Eldridge  party  were  so  singularly 


64  MAKING    UP   THE    SLATS. 

lacking  in  appreciation  and  love  for  the  poetic  that  they 
were  actually  displeased  and  disposed  to  be  indignant  at 
being  thus  slighted  and  shook  their  heads  at  the  affecting 
tableau  much  as  the  evil  one  is  said  to  do  at  the  sight  of 
holy  water.  They  called  upon  Vanderbilt  soon  after 
Drew  had  taken  his  leave,  and  when  he  informed  them 
that  he  had  changed  his  plan  and  decided  upon  a  course 
looking  to  the  continuance  in  power  of  the  very  man 
whose  removal  had  formed  the  keystone  of  their  union, 
they  were  utterly  astounded,  shouted  for  the  agreement 
as  Shylock  for  his  bond,  and  signified  their  intention  of 
taking  a  very  bellicose  attitude  in  case  of  any  bad  faith 
with  them.  Their  suave  host  mildly  proposed  an  ad- 
journment of  the  interview  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Drew. 
This  was  agreed  upon,  and  a  few  hours  later  in  the 
evening  these  devout  spirits  met  for  their  third  Sabbath- 
day,  services.  The  Eldridge  faction  still  wearing  a  very 
bellicose  and  uncompromising  visage,  Vanderbilt  coolly 
proceeded  in  their  very  presence  to  talk  with  Drew  upon 
the  course  to  be  pursued  to  secure  the  utter  defeat  of  the 
presuming  youths  and  shut  them  out  of  all  power  and 
influence  in  the  control  of  the  road.  The  Bostonians 
we'll  knew  that  these  two  powerful  veterans  working 
together  could  have  things  entirely  their  own  way  with- 
out the  slightest  difficulty,  and  finding  that  they  were 
only  derisively  laughed  at  when  they  suggested  that 
agreements  and  promises  were  of  any  binding  force  in, 
such  matters,  and  that  they  must-make  a  new  tack  or  be 


rrr  THE  SLATE.  65 

"swamped,  they  speedily  dismounted  from  their  high 
horso,  adopted  that  discretion  which  is  the  better  part  of 
valor,  resorted  to  diplomacy  once  more,  and  manoeuvred 
for  a  fusion  and  harmonizing  of  all  opposing  interests 
and  purposes.  The  council  -was  prolonged  far  into  the 
night  and  finally  resulted  in  a  proclamation  of  universal 
amnesty  and  impartial  suffrage  to  a  degree  of  perfection 
that  should  satisfy  even  Horace  Greeley.  When  the  meet- 
ing broke  up  and  the  parties  emerged  from  the  mansion 
of  the  "  speculative  director  "  in  the  gray  dawn  of  the 
morning,  all  was  peace.  The  rumble  of  cannon,  yester- 
day moving  into  position  for  a  fierce  triangular  battle  had, 
died  away  in  the  harmony  of  a  magnanimous  tripartite 
alliance.  Once  in  a  compromising  mood,  it  had  been 
found  quite  feasible  to  arrange  for  a  mutuargrinding  of 
all  their  little  axes  and  let  Wall  Street,  the  public  and  the 
Erie  Railway  bleed  for  all  three  parties  instead  of  one. 
.Drew  was  to  be  continued  in  his  position  and  Eldridg% 
was  to  go  into  the  direction  and  become  its  presides*; 
the  road  was  to  be  run  in  league  and  fraternity  with  -the 
Vanderbilt  roads  and  in  accordance  with  his  wished,  and 
give  him  the  monopoly  he  desired  over  New  York;  the 
corporation  was  to  provide  the  Boston,  Hartford  &  Erie 
Company  (of  which  Mr.  Eldridge  was  also  president) 
with  tho  much  desired  $4,000,000;  thero  was  to  be  a 
grand  combination  to  run  up  the  price  of  Erie  stock  ;  and 
Drt>w  was  to  be  the  great  factotum  of  all  theeo  litdo 
matters,  which  would  enable  him  to  add  to  hi*  million* 


66  MAKING    UP    THE    STATE. 

by  judicious  use  of  the  power   and  private  information 
incident  to  the  position. 

This  arrangement  was  eminently  satisfactory  to  all 
three  of  the  parties,  as  well  it  might  be,  but  the  Eldridge 
men  foresaw  that  its  execution  involved  one  unpleasant  cir- 
cumstance for  them.  Opposition  to  Drew  had  been  their 
chief  stock  in  trade  from  the  start.  They  had  professed 
themselves  greatly  scandalized  at  his  conduct  in  abusing 
his  trust  to  further  his  private  schemes  and  speculate  in 
the  stock  in  contempt  of  law  and  directly  against  the  in- 
terests of  the  stockholders.  "  Down  with  the  speculative 
director!"  was  the  motto  they  had  inscribed  on  their  ban- 
ner to  win  favor,  and  upon  this  purpose  they  had  based 
their  special  claim  to  consideration  and  support.  They 
had  not  yet  acquired  the  lofty  contempt  of  their  veteran 
confederates  for  the  opinion  and  esteem  of  both  public  and 
friends  provided  they  carried  their  point,  and  therefore 
naturally  felt  a  little  squeamish  at  the  thought  of  appear- 
ing before  their  friends  with  such  a  sudden  abandonment 
of  the  cause  they  had  so  loudly  championed,  their  indig- 
nation and  offended  moral  sense  so  inexplicably  collapsed, 
and  advocating  the  reelection  of  the  man  whom  they  had 
so  unsparingly  denounced  as  unfit  to  be  continued  :in 
power.  They  dreaded  the  reproach  of  bad  faith  and 
treachery  which  they  felt  would  be  deservedly  charged 
upon  them  by  their  friends  and  followers.  Out  of  regard 
to  this  mawkish  sensibility  it  was  arranged  that  a  ticket 
with  Drew's  name  left  off  should  be  made  up  and  elected, 


A    FLUTTJEE   IN   WAIL    STBBET.  67 

but  one  of  the  men  on  the  ticket  should  be  an  obliging 
man  of  straw  who  would  kindly  resign  immediately  after 
election,  and  then  the  remaining  directors,  in  virtue  of  the 
power  given  them  to  fill  any  vacancy  in  their  board, 
would  choose  Drew  to  fill  the  place  resigned  by  the  locum 
tencns.  This  would  save  appearances  for  the  sensitive 
spirits  and  raise  a  dust  that  would  conceal  their  "job" 
from  the  eyes  of  their  friends  till  it  was  forgotten.  By  a 
most  fortunate  chance,  too,  this  piece  of  strategy  would 
have  an  incidental  consequence  not  to  be  despised  or  neg- 
lected. These  contradictory  actions  would  produce  vio- 
lent fluctuations  in  the  stock  on  election  day,  which  those 
behind  the  scenes  would  know  how  to  turn  to  good  ac- 
count. With  all  matters  thus  nicely  cut  and  dried,  the 
protracted  meeting  in  the  house  of  the  distinguished 
Methodist  broke  up  and  this  Gideon's  Band  came  forth 
from  the  mansion  of  peace  with  serene  countenances. 

The  first  act  in  the  programme  thus  settled  upon  was 
faithfully  carried  out.  The  election  came  off  and  the  news 
reaching  Wall  Street  that  the  great  leader  of  the  bears  had 
been  defeated  and  driven  out  of  his  fort,  spread  a  panic 
among  his  followers  and  Erie  bounded  upward.  Two 
hours  later  came  the  news  that  Mr.  Underwood  had  re- 
signed his  place  as  director  and  that  Drew  had  been 
chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy  and  was  reinstated  in  his  old 
place.  This  acted  like  magic  on  the  bear  brigade,  which 
instantly  became  ascendant  again,  and  Erie  fell  as  quickly 
as  it  had  risen.  There  was  a  difference  of  3£  per  cent,  in 


08  FISK   AND  GOULD   MMT. 

the  extreme  prices  of  the  day,  a  fluctuation  sufficiently 
large  to  yield  a  rich  profit  to  those  who  knew  beforehand 
how  the  wires  were  to  be  operated  and  thus  were  enabled 
to  reap  two  harvests  in  a  single  day. 

The  strange  course  of  things  on  election  day  puzzled 
and  confused  operators,  and  brokers  utterly  but  the 
mysterious  movement  was  soon  forgotten  in  the  sweeping 
tide  of  Wall  Street  and  Erie  settled  down  for  a  calm  of  a 
few  weeks,  remaining  quite  steady  at  about  70.Jjni ^ 

Among  the  new  directors  chosen  at  this  election  were 

-c,Trr—      o 

Jay  Gould  and  Jamea  Fiok,  Jr.,  who  met  for  the  first 
tune  at  the  preliminary  meeting  of  the  new  board.  Mr. 
Fisk  says  the  date  of  this  election  is  well  fixed  in  his 
memory,  because  it  constitutes  an  "  episode  "  in  his  life. 
He  dates  his  grey  hairs  from  that  day,  and  says  he  saw 
more  robbery  during  the  next  year  than  he  had  ever  seen 
before  ,jn  his  Avholo  life— -a  statement  that  will  receive 
ready  credence.  But  it  is  amusing, to  note  that  this  date 
which  is;  so  indelibly  marked  in  his  memory  he  testified^  to 
be  the  13th  of  October  when  it  was  in  reality  the  8th. 
He  has  also  said  he  had  not  been  in  office,  fifteen  minutes 
before  ho,  made  up  his  mind  there  was  going  to  bo 
trouble, 

The  first  ac.fr  of  the  programme  had  been  successfully 
performed  and  it  was  now  time  for  the  next.  In 
pursuance,  of  the  agreement  to  run  the  stock  up,  a  large 
"  pool  "  was  formed  the  last  of  November  or  early  part  of 
December  jand  Drew  was  left  in  charge  of  the  fund  to 


engineer  the  movement.  Besides  their  contributions  to 
the  pool  many  of  the  confederates  made  large  purchases 
on  their  own  private  accounts,  looking  to  a  rapid  rise. 
The  prices  did  not  make  rapid  leaps  upward  at  once  but 
fluctuated  two  or  three  per  cent.  "  forward  and  back " 
rather  mysteriously  for  four  or  five  weeks.  The  members 
of  the  pool  who  had  made  outside  investments  being 
surprised  that  the  stock  fell  back  heavily  after  each  ad- 
vance instead  of  rising  uniformly  and  rapidly  as  antici- 
pated, applied  to  Drew  for  information  and  advice ;  but 
he,  in  his  childlike  innocence  and  simplicity,  seemed  more 
confused  and  puzzled  than  any  of  the  rest  and  utterly  at  a 
loss  to  account  for  the  strange  manner  in  which  their 
stock  acted,  yet  felt  sure  it  would  soon  move  regularly 
under  their  purchases.  With  this  assurance  from  their 
sagacious  chief  they  made  still  further  private  purchases, 
some  of  them  even  borrowing  some  of  the  pool  money 
from  Drew  to  put  up  as  a  margin  and  in  addition  went 
"  long  "  extensively.  They  were  confident  the  looked-for 
bound  upward  must  come  soon,  began  to  count  the  hours 
ere  their  fortunes  would  be  reckoned  in  millions,  and 
were  already  forming  many  little  plans  and  dreams  to  be 
executed  when  they  came  in  possession.  .  They  continued 
their  purchases  while  the  stock  rose  four,  five  or  six  per 
cent,  and  then,  to  their  utter  amazement,  it  dropped 
heavily  back  to  the  starting  point  and  was  plenty  to  all 
purchases.  They  now  became  alarmed,  for  their  "  long  " 
contracts  were  near  maturity  and  but  a  few  days 


70  KB.    DREW   HAS   NO    "  KHT8." 

remained  in  which  to  reap  the  golden  harvest  they  had 
deemed  as  good  as  secured. 

The  day  on  which  this  decline  occurred  was  one  of  those 
days  at  the  close  of  which  operators  and  brokers  are  too 
excited  and  anxious  to  go  home.  In  the  evening,  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  presented  the  appearance  of  an 
adjourned  meeting  of  the  Stock  Exchange,  the  main  halls, 
corridors  and  public  rooms  being  thronged  with  the  hab- 
itues  of  Wall  Street,  all  excited  and  utterly  confounded  over 
the  course  of  Erie  that  day.  Standing  by  the  grand  stair- 
case was  an  old  gentleman  with  a  peculiarly  wrinkled  face- 
and  brow,  with  an  expression  of  the  most  artless  simplicity 
upon  his  countenance  as  he  surveyed  the  scene  around, 
him  and  watched  the  writhings  of  the  bulls  with  mute 
curiosity,  utterly  unable  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of 
the  situation.  A  prominent  broker  approached  him  and 
said,—"  Well,  Mr.  Drew,  is  Erie  going  to  fall  ?  "  "  Other 
folks  think  so,  but  I  can't  give  you  no  'pints'*  in  it," 
was  the  reply  of  the  old  gentleman  of  childlike  innocence 
and  he  continued  his  disinterested  survey  of  the  scene. 

Eenewed  applications  of  the  members  of  the  pool  to* 
Mr.  Drew  for  light  on  the  subject  were  like  efforts  to  get 
blood  out  of  a  turnip,  so  blissfully  ignorant  was  he  and  so- 
sphinx-like  were  his  responses.  They  then  commenced- 
making  investigations  through  their  brokers,  endeavoring 
to  trace  the  stock  furnished  them  to  the  source  of  supply. 
Their  efforts  had  not  been  exerted  long  in  this  direction; 
when  they  were  suddenly  stricken  with  horror — tho  most 


JL    GUKUO-N     HOBNOB.  71 

•ickeniiig  of  gorgon  horrors.  Their  blood  was  chilled, 
cold  perspiration  gathered  on  their  brows  and  a  tremor 
ran  through  their  very  bones.  Nearly  every  share  of 
stock  they  had  bought  had  been  supplied  by  Drew  him- 
self! through  his  various  brokers.  The  truth  dawned 
upon  them.  They  had  been  betrayed  and  sold  out  by 
their  own  leader,  and  must  lose  thousands  where  they  had 
counted  upon  making  hundreds  of  thousands..  Who  could 
have  dreamt  of  such  duplicity  and  treachery  ?  Who  could 
have  believed  that  the  man  who  was  wholly  indebted  to 
the  pool  for  a  recent  new  lease  of  power,  who  had  been 
able  to  make  terms  only  by  promising  to  join  efforts  with 
the  pool  and  work  for  its  aim,  who  had  been  entrusted  by 
the  pool  with  the  pool  fund  to  manage  their  "  bull " 
movement,  who  had  been  confided  in  by  members  of  the 
pool  for  advice,  and  who  had  kindly  loaned  them  some  of 
the  pool  money  to  operate  with  privately — who  could  have 
believed  that  this  man  would  deceive  and  dupe  them? 
victimise  them  so  treacherously  while  acting  as  their 
trusted  ally  and  chief?  That  was  what  Daniel  Drew  had 
done.  He  had  played  the  bear  and  duped  his  most  inti- 
mate associates  so  long  that  the  disease  was  chronic,  a 
"second  nature"  with  him,  and  the  weak  nerves  of  the 
poor  old  man  could  no  more  resist  the  temptation  of  such 
an  unprecedented  opportunity  for  duping  a  fine  lot  of  con- 
federates, playing  such  a  comical  trick  upon  the  trust 
reposed  in  him  and  acting  his  normal  character  of  bear 
despite  all  pledges  and  obligations,  than  water  can  help 


72  YANDEIiBILT  KOTTSEir. 

running  down  hill  or  sparks  can  resist  flying  upward. 
When  Erie  was  low  he  laid  in  a  large  stock.  When  it  rose 
he  kindly  furnished  his  friends  with  money  to  buy  with, 
and  then,  one  good  turn  deserving  another,  he  had  kindly 
supplied  stock  for  them  to  buy.  He  loaded  the  market 
till  the  price  fell  and  then  he  bought  again,  sending  the 
market  up,  when  once  more  his  friends  borrowed  money 
of  him  to  buy  his  own  stock.  And  thus  while  Erie  had 
acted  in  a  manner  that  puzzled  and  surprised  not  only  the 
general  dealers  but  even  those  who  thought  they  knew  all 
about  it,  the  wily  old  man  had  been  manipulating  these 
moderate  turns,  duping  his  friends  and  making  large 
profits  for  the  pool  in  general  and  himself  in  particular. 

As  soon  as  these  facts  became  known,  a  meeting  of  the 
pool  was  held  at  which  the  comical  Drew  coolly  and 
and  soothingly  announced  that  the  pool  had  made  a  hand- 
some sum  and  proceeded  to  divide  the  spoil.  The  grim 
humor  of  this  situation  has  but  few  parallels  and  will  be 
fully  appreciated  by  aH  the  world  now,  though  the  hu- 
morous side  of  it  was  not  at  the  time  at  all  apparent  t6 
the  members  of  the  pool,  except,  perhaps,  Fisk  and  Gould. 
These  gentlemen  have  a  very  lively  sense  of  the  humorous, 
and  as  they  were  too  sharp  to  get  caught,  and  probably 
even  profited  by  the  proceeding,  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
they  appreciated  the  position  in  all  its  phases. 

The  wrath  of  Vanderbilt  knew  no  bounds  and  was 
something  inspiring  to  behold,  like  the  fury  of  a  mighty 
Biornu  It  was  not  that  he  had  been  duped.  It  was  not 


A   NEW    POOL  73 

at  Drew's  ingratitude  and  duplicity.  It  was  not  that  his 
friends  had  been  victimised,  pledges  broken  and  his  aims 
momentarily  thwarted.  It  wag  at  himself  for  allowing  it 
to  be  possible  to  be  caught  at  all,  for  putting  himself  in 
the  power  of  any  man,  for  falling  so  unsuspectingly  and 
unguardedly  into  the  trap  of  his  inveterate  foe.  His 
'  motto  is,  "  Never  put  it  in  any  man's  power  to  ruin  you." 
He  was  not  ruined  nor  seriously  harmed,  but  he  had 
infringed  the  rule  of  his  life  and  been  caught  napping  for 
once  by  his  enemy  under  the  most  irritating  circum- 
stances. Drew  chuckled,  looked  innocent  as  a  babe  and 
felt  many  an  old  score  wiped  out.  Fisk  and  Gould 
chuckled,  thought  it  a  huge  joke  and  carefully  treasured 
the  moral  thereof. 

Tanderbilt  was  now  determined  that  Erie  should  come 
under  his  power, — absolutely  and  beyond  the  will  of  any 
man  or  body  of  men  to  say  him  nay.  He  first  submitted 
to  the  directors  certain  propositions  expressing  .his  desire 
as  to  the  management  of  the  road,  and  the  rejection  of 
these  by  the  board  showing  him  that  he  was  not  supreme 
ruler  but  had  been  duped  all  round,  he  drew  himself  up 
in  all  the  majesty  of  his  mighty  power  and  resolved  to 
make  Erie  his  by  main  force,  as  he  had  done  with  the 
others.  A  new  pool  was  immediately  formed  to  do  what 
the  first  one  had  failed  to  do.  For  reasons  not  necessary 
to  mention,  Daniel  Drew  was  not  a  member  of  this  pool. 
Jay  Gould,  however,  was.  All  these  scenes  changed 
rapidly,  noiselessly,  and  by  unseen  forces,  and  Erie  had 


74  LAUGHING    AT    STATTTTE8. 

rlV*  '  •'  rV-rrf!* 

scarcely  fallen  back  under  Drew's  last  unloading  upon 

his  friends  when  it  wheeled  and  shot  up  from  70  to  80 
under  the  inspiration  of  the  new  combination  and  Van- 
derbilt's  roused  will  so  suddenly  as  to  puzzle  and  con- 
found brokers  more  than  ever  by  tho  queer,  unexpected 
and  inexplicable  movement.  Drew,  now  left  out  in  the  . 
cold,  was  sad  visaged,  the  picture  of  childlike  innocence 
and  simplicity,  and  despondent,  as  usual,  but— also  as 
usual — he  boldly  sold  short  of  Erie  despite  the  upward 
bound,  despite  the  combination  which  he  knew  had  been 
formed  against  him,  despite  the  bitter  experience  he  had 
had  in  going  short  when  Vanderbilt  was  opposed  to  him. 
His  course  seemed  strange,  reckless  and  rushing  upon 
self-destruction,  as  viewed  by  the  multitude,  but  the  wary 

Commodore  was  quick  to  read  its  significance  and   act 

j.      ••  •     H.T  l> 
accordingly. 

TI         -•      T     ,qUf  VJS«   .';_V   '-" 

The  law  of  the  State  forbade  any  increase  of  the  capital 
stock  of  any  railroad  by  a  direct  issue  of  new  shares. 

But 

oart>i  -{"•''•  "  Danger  deviseth  shifts :  wit  waits  on  fear," 

'    \ia    .  '  [  ,.,.,-  ""•(>•{.  '•!  •   fi'^ff*    T-"*''?  !>:•(?  Jl'tflotm: 

and  Drew's  genius  had  devised  a  ready  and  easy  way  of 
getting  round  this  little  difficulty.  The  charter .  of  the 
company  does  authorize  the  directors  to  issue  bonds  of 
the  corporation  for  various  purposes  in  the  management 
of  the  road,  and  these  bonds  may  be  made  convertible 
into  capital  stock  at  the  option  of  the  holder.  The 
directors  were  only  too  glad  to  issue  bonds  in  any  amount 
whenever  they  could  find  any  one  to  take  them,  and 


THB   MY8IEBIOU8  LITTLE  MTT.T_  75 

these  being  immediately  converted  into  shares  of  capital 
stock  at  the  demand  of  the  purchaser,  Mr.  Drew  grace- 
fully raised  his  hat  at  the  cobweb  restraint  of  statutes  and 
proceeded  on  his  course.  The  principle  is  quite  simple. 
A  step  thirty-six  inches  long  being  forbidden,  the  space 
is  divided  into  two  steps  of  eighteen  inches  each  and 
trippingly  passed. 

It  was  by  this  simple  machinery,  then  used  for  the  first 
time,  that  Mr.  Drew  provided  himself  with  some  58,000 
shares  of  new  Erie  stock  in  the  spring  of  1866.  In  that 
instance,  however,  it  was  placed  with  him  only  as  collat- 
eral security  for  a  loan  to  the  corporation,  the  directors 
not  suspecting  it  was  to  be  put  upon  the  market.  He 
nevertheless  made  use  of  it  in  his  famous  bear  campaign 
of  that  spring  and  had  thereby  laid  himself  liable  to  legal 
proceedings  and  heavy  damages.  He  had  been  left  un- 
disturbed, however,  and  after  having  sent  the  stock  down 
from  95  to  50  under  the  staggering  load  of  new  shares, . 
he  bought  his  collateral  back  again  at  the  lower  figure 
and  held  it  in  reserve  for  any  new  emergency. 

By  a  recent  statute  it  was  also  permitted  to  a  railroad 
to  issue  its  own  bonds  in  place  of  those  of  any  road  under 
lease  to  it.  Availing  themselves  of  the  door  thus  con- 
veniently opened,  Drew  and  some  of  his  fellow  directors 
had  purchased  the  Buffalo,  Bradford  and  Pittsburg  Rail- 
road. It  was  a  worthless  road  and  was  bought  for 
$250,000.  Immediately  after  purchasing  it  they  issued 
bonds  in  its  name  to  the  amount  of  $2,000,000,  then 


76  A    MALICIOUS   DESIQIf. 

leased  it,  thus  burdened,  to  Erie — *.  e.,  in  their  private 
capacity  they  leased  it  to  themselves  as  directors  of  Erie- 
oil  such  favorable  terms  that  they,  as  individuals,  made  an 
annual  profit  of  $140,000  by  the  transaction.  Erie  bonds 
were  then  issued  in  place  of  those  of  the  leased  road  and 
immediately  converted  into  stock. 

With  his  58,000  shares  of  "collateral"  ready  to  be 
launched  upon  the  market  any  instant ;  with  the  shares 
into  which  the  $2,000,000  of  bonds  of  the  leased  road  had 
been  converted,  ready  for  use  whenever  the  market  was  high 
enough ;  and  with  the  simple  machinery  of  the  two  unlim- 
ited sources  of  supply  easily  put  in  motion  at  any  moment 
to  turn  out  any  desired  amount  of  stock,  well  might  Mr. 
Drew  recklessly  go  short  in  Erie  when  it  stood  somewhere 
above  70,  and  continue  to  look  despondent,  "  with  a  smile 
that  was  child-like  and  bland."  However  rash  and  suicidal 
his  course  might  seem  to  Wall  Street,  he  innocently  felt 
confident  that  he  could  oblige  the  greedy  Commodore  with 
as  much  Erie  as  he  would  take. 

Vanderbilt  understood  perfectly  well  this  blind  confi- 
dence that  went  short  so  boldly,  unterrified  either  by  his 
combination,  his  wrath,  or  his  vast  power,  and  he  was  not 
such  a  chicken  as  to  put  his  foot  in  the  trap  of  his  enemies 
again.  He  bethought  himself  of  maliciously  breaking; 
some  jof  the  small  wheels  in  Mr.  Drew's  little  machines, 
clogging  them  up,  throwing  them  out  of  gear  so  they 
would  not  work,  and  absolutely  spoiling  the  poor  old 
man's  pet  plaything  so  fondly  constructed  to  amuse  him- 


TEN   MILLIONS   OF   NEW   STOCK.  77 

self  with  in  the  dull  hours.  He  therefore  ordered  a  halt 
in  the  operations  of  the  pool  and  his  brokers  till  ho  could 
cripple  the  process  by  which  Erie  stock  might  be  dumped 
upon  him  by  the  cart-load  when  he  had  lifted  it  to  a 
tempting  figure. 

It  was  past  the  middle  of  January,  1868,  when 
Drew's  treachery  leaked  out  and  the  pool  and  Vanderbilt 
had  found  themselves  sold.  Three  weeks  had  passed  in 
tho  rearrangement  of  wires,  laying  new  pipes  and  forming 
the  new  battle  lines.  They  had  been  three  weeks  of  that 
dark  portentous  calm  that  heralds  the  coming  of  a  mighty 
storm.  On  the  17th  of  February  Vanderbilt  fired  the 
opening  gun.  It  was  an  injunction  from  Judge  George 
G.  Barnard,  tieing  up  the  58,000  shares  of  stock  held  by 
Drew  as  collateral  so  effectually  that  they  could  not  be  put 
upon  the  market.  Two  days  later  came  a  second  order 
from  the  same  judge  suspending  Drew  from  the  office  of 
treasurer  and  director  and  ordering  him  to  appear  on 
the  10th  of  March  and  show  cause  why  he  should  not 
be  permanently  removed  from  the  direction  of  the  Erie 
Railway.  Drew  was  the  leading  spirit  and  great  arch- 
enemy and  it  was  felt  that  with  him  out  of  the  way  and 
his  hands  effectually  tied,  all  would  be  well.  The  58,000 
shares  which  he  held  having  been  tied  up  by  tho  injunc- 
tion of  tho  17th,  he  induced  the  board  of  directors  to  pass 
a  resolution  to  issue  810,000,000  of  new  bonds  to  supply 
various  needs  of  tho  road.  Theso  wore  of  course  con- 
verted into  shares  at  once,  and  so  for  the  58,000  shares 


7.8  LAW   HAS   90    TEBKOB   FOB   THE    INNOCENT. 

which.  Vanderbilt  had  tied  up  100,000  new  shares  had 
been  manufactured.  This  brilliant  stroke  was  achieved 
on  the  19th,  before  Judge  Barnard's  order  of  that  date, 
suspending  Drew  from  office,  had  been  served,  and  was 
of  course  kept  a  dead  secret  to  all  but  the  directors  con- 
cerned, no  suspicion  of  it  reaching  Wall  Street  or 
Vanderbilt.  Therefore  when  the  second  injunction 
arrived,  it  was  received  with  a  smile  more  childlike  and 
bland  than  ever  and  did  not  disturb  the  old  gent's  nerves 
in  the  least.  He  chuckled  and  said,  "  Fire  away,  with 
your  injunctions,  Mr.  Barnard !  Fire  away !  An  in- 
nocent man  like  me  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  law." 
Fisk  and  Gould  exchanged  winks,  chuckled  and  whispered 
to  each  other  "  What  jolly  sport  to  see  these  old  bucks 
butt  heads ! " 

Of  the  new  shares  thus  issued,  Drew  took  50,000  and 
James  Fisk,  Jr.,  50,000.  Drew  immediately  divided  his 
into  small  lots,  placed  them  where  they  could  bo  used  at 
a  moment's  notice  and  waited  developments.  When  the 
two  injunctions  had  been  served,  Vanderbilt  regarded  the 
hands  of  Drew  tied  beyond  the  power  of  doing  further 
harm  and  therefore  gave  orders  for  the  pool  and  his 
brokers  to  move  forward  in  the  purchase  of  Erie.  The 
order  was  obeyed  with  alacrity  and  the  great  railroad  king 
was  fast  gaining  possession  of  the  coveted  power.  The 
stock  was  very  active,  the  chief  feature  of  the  street  and 
the  price  tended  upward.  Drew  thought  it  time  to  pour 
in  his  first  broadside,  send  the  price  down  and  cover  his 


BA.RTTABD    FULMINATES. 


79 


shorts.  February  29th  Erie  was  selling  in  the  morning 
at  08$  and  the  demand  for  it  was  strong.  Drew  gave 
orders  to  his  brokers,  among  whom  the  50,000  shares 
had  been  distributed  in  small  lots,  to  sell,  and  the  whole 
load  was  dumped  upon  the  bulls  and  eagerly  swallowed 
by  them  before  they  were  aware  of  its  source.  Soon  the 
rumor  that  there  had  been  a  large  issue  of  new  stock 
spread  like  wildfire,  striking  terror  into  the  bulls,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  Erie  reeled  and  tumbled  to  65.  A  howl  of 
delight  went  up  from  the  bears  and  nearly  every  one  was 
expecting  to  see  it  fall  to  50,  when  it  as  suddenly  wheeled 
again  and  shot  back  to  73.  Like  a :  great  general  stem- 
ming a  panic  among  his  men  and  turning  a  rout  into 
victory,  Yanderbilt  commanded  his  brokers  to  stand  firm 
and  buy  every  share  of  Erie  stock  offered.  Something 
like  $5,000,000  worth  of  it  was  loaded  upon  him  that  day, 
but  he  stood  up  under  it  all  without  the  slightest  sign  of 
being  heavy  laden,  holding  it  with  ease  and  even  sending 
the  price  up  !  i  The  little  bears  were  all  scooped  up  in  his 
net  and  the  nerves  of  even  their  great  leader  himself  were 
somewhat  unsettled  by  this  manifestation  of  tremendous 
power  and  determination.  'Drew  had  now  flung  upon  the 
market  all  the  stock  he  could  command,  and  yet  the  price 
had  gone  up  and  left  him  with  largo  short  contracts  un- 
covered. On  the  3d  of  March  his  nerves  received  a  fur- 
ther shock,  for  on  that  day,  at  the  instance  of  Vanderbilt, 
Judge  Barnard  fulminated  his  third  injunction,  this  time 
not  against  Drew  alone  but  against  the  whole  body  of  Erie 


80  A.  COUNTEBBLAST. 

directors,  peremptorily  forbidding  tlieir  issuing  or  using 
any  stock  of  the  company  in  addition  to  the  251,058 
shares  outstanding  at  the  last  annual  report.  As  50,000 
new  shares  were  already  on  the  market  and  they  had  got 
Vanderbilt's  money  therefor,  they  could  not  restrain  a 
slight  smile  at  the  Judge  and  his  patron  for  this  injunc- 
tion. But  Drew  could  not  join  in  this  smile  at  all.  He 
could  think  of  nothing  but  "them  shorts"  and  was  alarmed 
lest  this  last  move  had  placed  him  in  Vanderbilt's  power 
once  more.  Nor  did  any  of  them  long  indulge  in  humor 
over '  the  comical  phase  of  this  last  move,  but  they  seri- 
ously addressed  themselves  to  the  problem  of  breaking 
the  cordon  that  was  gathering  around  them,  rr.q  j 

A  week  wore  on".  Vanderbilt  pushed  Erie  steadily 
upward  and  it  now  stood  at  78.  During  these  days  the 
directors  came  to  the  conclusion  that  "two  can  play  at 
that  game  "  of  injunctions.  The  10th  was  the  day  on 
which  Drew  had  got  to  appear  before  Judge  Barnard  and 
show  cause  why  ho  should  not  be  turned  out  of  Erie.  He 
knew  that  the  crisis  of  the  whole  situation  must  culminate 
on  that  day.  But  on  the  morning  of  the  9th  the  directors 
quietly  went  over  to  Brooklyn,  and  upon  affidavits  stating 
that  a  conspiracy  had  been  entered  into  to  injure  the  Erie 
Railway  and  speculate  in  its  stock,  and  that  Judge  Bar- 
nard himself  was  interested  in  it  and  was  using  the  power 
of  his  Court  to  help  it  on,  an  injunction  was  obtained  from 
Judge  Gilbert  staying  proceedings  in  all  the  suits  that 
had  been  instituted,  Judge  Barnard  being  included  in  the 


PISK   AND   GOULD'S   HEADS    10GETHEB.  81 

restraint,  and  ordering  the  directors  to  proceed  in  the 
management  of  the  road  precisely  as  if  no  suit  had  been 
instituted.  This  placed  matters  in  a  very  interesting 
position.  On  one  hand  Judge  Barnard  had  forbidden 
certain  things  to  be  done  and  therefore  if  the  directors 
proceeded  that  functionary  would  visit  them  with  his 
mighty  vengeance  for  contempt  of  his  Court ;  on  the  other 
hand  was  the  order  of  Judge  Gilbert  directing  them  to 
move  forward  in  those  same  matters,  so  if  they  stood  still 
they  were  equally  liable  to  be  punished  by  him  for  con-- 
tempt  of  his  Court.  Drew,  being  a  devout  Methodist, 
probably  never  plays  cards  and  so  had  most  likely  never 
heard  of  Hoyle's  famous  maxim,  "  When  you  are  in 
doubt,  take  the  trick ; "  but  he  had  seen  quite  enough  of 
law  in  his  long  life  to  know  that  a  prisoner  is  always  enti- 
tled to  the  benefit  of  any  doubt,  and  Judge  Barnard  was  the 
man  the  terror  of  whose  process  for  contempt  it  was  de- 
cided to  brave.  In  this  position  the  opposing  forces  rested 
on  their  arms  facing  each  other  the  last  night  before  the 
great  decisive  battle,  knowing  that  on  the  morrow  would 
come  the  final  crisis  of  the  campaign  and  that  before  the 
sun  set  again  the  laurels  would  be  awarded  to  bull  or 
bear,  Vanderbilt  or  Drew. 

It  had  been  a  case  of  "  love  at  sight  "  between  Fisk 
and  Gould.  They  recognized  at  once  the  elements  of 
strength  which  their  union  would  have  and  had  been 
putting  their  heads  together  through  all  these  months  to 
improve  any  opportunity  that  might  arise.  Gould  had 


82  DREW   FEISHTENED. 

retained  the  confidence  of  Vanderbilt  all  this  tinn  and  he 
now  so  far  presumed  upon  this  confidence  as  to  suggest 
to  Vanderbilt  that  as  the  day  was  to  bo  one  of  much  ex- 
citement in  the  Courts  the  bears  might  take  advantage  of 
it  to  depress  Erie  and  it  would  therefore  be  advisable  for 
the  Commodore  to  give  his  brokers  orders  to  sustain  the 
market.  Vanderbilt  saw  the  propriety  of  the  course 
suggested.  Gould  then  played  upon  Drew's  nerves  by 
ominously  hinting  that  Fisk  was  acting  a  little  peculiar, 
might  not  put  his  50,000  shares  upon  the  market  after 
all,  and  if  he  did  not  Vanderbilt  would  triumph  and  Erie 
might  go  to  200  or  higher  as  Harlem  did.  This  greatly 
increased  the  old  man's  alarm  and  his  weak  knees  began 
to  tremble  badly. 

The  morning  of  the  10th  dawned.  Vanderbilt  gave  an 
unlimited  order  to  sustain  the  market,  then  standing  at 
79.  Drew  scrutinized  Fisk's  actions  and  found  they  did 
look  dubious,  as  Gould  said.  He  was  seized  with  a  fear 
that  he  was  going  to  be  duped  in  the  house  of  his  friends 
as  he  had  duped  others,  and  immediately  sent,  orders  for 
his  brokers  to  buy  Erie  to  cover  his  shorts.  This  was  the 
moment  Fisk"  was  waiting  for.  His  50,000  shares  were 
immediately  distributed  among  numerous  brokers  in  small 
lots  and  orders  given  to  sell  when  the  word  came.  The 
stock  board  met  at  10  o'clock,  and  the  street  was  already 
tremulous  with  nervous  excitement.  The  presiding  offi- 
cer commenced  calling  the  list  of  stocks  and  all  were 
passed  quickly  with  scarcely  any  dealings  or  bids  till  he 


BEDLAM    LET   LOOSE.  83 

called  "  Erie  !"  At  that  word,  before  it  was  off  his  Hpe, 
the  thickly  packed  crowd  of  brokers  bounded  as  if  a  mine 
had  been  sprung  beneath  them.  Their  united  yells  rent 
the  air  of  the  large  room  as  had  not  been  done  for  many 
a  long  day.  They  shouted  till  their  faces  were  as  red  as 
demons',  each  trying  to  make  himself  heard  above  the 
rest,  gesticulating  frantically  to  the  utmost  extent  of  their 
physical  power.  It  seemed  more  like  a  mad-house  filled 
with  raving  maniacs  suddenly  released  from  constraint 
than  a  gathering  of  rational  beings.  Erie  changed  hands 
by  the  five  and  ten  thousand  shares  per  moment.  The 
battle  raged  madly  for  ten  minutes  and  the  stock  was 
going  at  80,  when  the  presiding  officer  announced  that 
dealings  in  Erie  must  cease  and  called  the  next  stock  on 
the  list.  Instantly  the  whole  body  now  bolted  from  the 
room  and  poured  down  the  long,  large  staircase  into  the 
street  like  a  wild  sweeping  torrent,  leaving  the  vice-pres- 
ident to  go  through  the  formality  of  calling  the  list  to  the 
end  to  an  empty  room.  On  the  street  the  battle  was  con- 
tinued and  raged  in  still  greater  disorder,  each  of  Van- 
derbilt's  brokers  forming  the  centre  of  an  eddying  circle 
in  the  grand  whirlpool  and  quickly  catching  at  all  offers 
to  sell,  while  Drew's  men  were  equally  busy  and  eager 
covering  his  shorts.  The  struggle  was  kept  up  with 
unabated  fury  till  noon  when  Erie,  under  the  combined 
purchases  of  Vanderbilt  and  Drew,  touched  83.  Fisk's 
men  no*w  received  their  word  and  flung  his  50,000  shares. 
They  were  snatched  up  as  beggar  boys  snatch  at  pennies 


84  A  pAjac. 


thrown  among  them  and  still  ask  for  more.  Still  the 
battle  raged  on  till  those  who  had  purchased  got  a  chance 
to  glance  at  the  shares  that  had  been  delivered  to  them. 
It  was  then  suddenly  discovered  that  large  quantities  of 
brand-new  stock,  clean  and  unrumpled,  issued  to  James 
FisJt,  Jr.,  had  been  put  upon  the  street  that  day.  In- 
stantly and  like  wildfire  a  panic  ran  through  the  heart  of 
"Wall  Street.  Here,  even  more  than  elsewhere,  rumors 
gather  volume  as  they  fly,  and  rumor  now  soon  had  it 
that  new  stock  had  been  dumped  upon  the  street  in 
unlimited  quantities.  The  shock  was  like  the  work  of 
magic.  The  antics  of  those  who  had  gobbled  down  the 
new  stock  unsuspectingly  now  resembled  the  contortions 
of  a  goose  that  has  swallowed  a  piece  of  red-hot  iron 
mistaken  for  corn.  Their  retchings  and  eructations  in  the 
effort  to  disgorge  were  a  rare  mixture  of  the  comic  and 
painful  to  behold.  All  were  eager  to  expel  the  indigest- 
ible, burning  foreign  matter  from  their  maws,  and  sold 
to  the  first  man  who  would  buy.  The  panic  extended 
even  to  Vanderbilt's  allies.  The  men  who  were  con- 
cerned with  him  in  the  new  pool  and  who  had  made  large 
outside  investments  under  their  agreement  to  run  Erie  up 
became  utterly  demoralized  by  the  rumors  flying  wildly 
around  them.  Sharing  the  general  conviction  that  the 
Drew  party  had  triumphed  and  Vanderbilt  been  beaten, 
and  knowing  that  in  such  an  event  Erie  must  tumble  to 
40  or  even  lower,  they  made  haste  to  sell  ere  the  Commo- 
dore could  countermand  the  order  to  sustain  the  market, 


VAJfDEBBILT   LOADED   DOW1T.  85 

and  thus  saddled  all  their  loads  upon  their  chief  before 
the  news  of  the  situation  reached  him. 

Under  the  panic  Erie  reeled  heavily  and  made  a  sudden 
lunge  down  to  71 — a  fall  of  12  per  cent,  in  two  hours. 
There  it  halted  quite  firmly,  making  the  wonder  of  the 
day,  not  that  it  fell  so  quick,  but  that  it  did  not  tumble 
50  per  cent,  further.  The  whole  shock  of  the  battle,  the 
whole  huge  load  of  the  market,  was  sustained  by  one 
man,  standing  alone  in  his  mighty  power,  deserted  by  his 
allies,  who  had  sold  out  upon  him  at  the  trying  moment 
and  skulked  away.  But  his  own  brokers  had  already 
been  much  the  heaviest  purchasers,  so  the  additional 
amount  loaded  upon  him  was  not  very  large  compara- 
tively, and  as  they  held  a  vast  volume  of  stock  and  still 
bought  as  it  fell,  they  were  able  to  stem  the  tide  at  71 
and  hold  it  firmly. 

When  the  panic  started  news  of  the  crisis  was  sent  to 
Vanderbilt  and  he  was  asked  if  his  brokers  should  sell. 
"  SELL  !!  you  fool!  No ! ! !  JBuy  every  share  offered!" 
was  the  response  roared  by  the  man  who  saw  with  the 
quick  eye  of  genius.  One  moment  of  hesitation,  one 
faltering  word  of  command,  one  instant  of  wavering  in 
his  position,  and  his  lines  would  be  hopelessly  broken; 
Erie,  of  which  ho  now  held  millions,  would  break  and 
tumble  50  per  cent. ;  Central,  Hudson  River,  and  Harlem, 
all  of  which  he  carried  on  his  shoulders,  would  follow  in 
the  panic  and  he  would  be  hopelessly  swamped.  He  took 
in  the  whole  situation  at  a  glance  and  knew  that  Erie 


$6  .     KI8K    AtfD    GOULD    WIN    THE    FiH«*T    HAND. 

must  be  sustained  at  all  hazards  now,  and  by  the  force  of 
his  will  alone  the  tide  was  stemmed,  the  panic  stopped 
short,  and  disaster  stayed. 

The  battle  was  done.  Fisk  and  Gould  had  triumphed 
over  Vanderbilt,  defeating  his  purpose  and  hopes  while 
relieving  him  of  some  $10,000,000  of  his  money,  and  had 
also  bitten  Drew  quite  severely  by  the  way — just  for  a 
little  side  diversion,  risk's  dubious  looks  ceased  the 
moment  they  had  produced  their  desired  effect  in  leading 
Drew  to  give  orders  to  cover  his  contracts,  and  when  the 
old  gent  learned  an  hour  later  that  Fisk  was  going  to 
sell,  he  sent  a  fleet  messenger  to  countermand  his  order 
to  buy ;  but  it  was  too  late.  His  brokers  had  acted 
promptly  and  his  shorts,  contracted  at  about  70,  had  been 
covered  at  about  80.  Still,  the  result  of  the  whole  battle 
of  three  weeks  was  such  that  the  veteran  leader  of  the 
bears  was  eminently  satisfied,  and  he  heartily  joined  in 
the  chuckle  that  ran  round  the  self-satisfied  circle 
gathered  at  Erie  headquarters  in  "West  Street  that  even- 
ing around  the  uncovered  chest  containing  Vanderbilt's 
millions  in  exchange  for  the  small  slips  of  clean  paper 
ground  out  by  their  little  mill  only  a  few  days  before. 

The  roar  of  the  wild  battle  in  Wall  Street  had  com- 
pletely drowned  the  loudest  noise  in  the  neighboring 
halls  of  justice  that  day,  and  Judge  Barnard's  deepest 
and  most  powerful  pipes  had  been  as  the  squeaks  of 
a  penny  whistle  beside  a  battery  of  booming  cannon. 
Nevertheless  he  had  piped  away  after  his  fashion,  vent- 


BAENAED    OK   THE    WAE    PATH.  87 

ing  much  righteous  indignation,  overflowing  -with  a 
more  than  noble  Roman's  valor  and  virtue,  conclud- 
ing in  shrill  tones,  "  My  voice  is  still  for  war."  The 
man  he  had  sternly  ordered  to  appear  before  the 
majesty  of  his  law  that  morning,  shielded  himself 
behind  a  judge  of  co-ordinate  power  with  Barnard, 
found  it  inconvenient  to  attend  and  failed  to  put  in  an. 
appearance*  Moreover,  as  "his  Hon6r'"  took  his  seat 
upon  the  bench  that  morning  he  was  himself  treated  to  a 
little  tas^e  of  injunctions,  being  at  that  moment,  without 
the  slightest  awe  of  his  august  dignity,  diamond  studs, 
frilled  shirt  front,  and  velvet  coat,  served  with  Judge  Gil- 
bert's order  peremptorily  forbidding  him  to  take  any  fur- 
ther proceedings  in  the  matter  of  the  orders  and  injunc- 
tions he  had  so  freely  fulminated  against  Drew  and  the 
whole  body  of  Erie  directors.  He  was  amazed  at  such  an 
extraordinary  act  on  the  part  of  his  Brooklyn  compeer, 
promptly  declared  it  utterly  null  and  void,  and  proceeded 
to  treat  it  with  entire  contempt.  But  while  he  himself 
thus  treated  with  contempt  an  order  of  the  Supreme  Court 
on  the  one  hand,  on  the  other  he  proposed  to  visit  sum- 
mary punishment  upon  those  who  had  presumed  to  dis- 
regard his  own  annulled  orders.  Drew  had  failed  to 
appear.  That  was  contempt  despite  an  order  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  staying  proceedings  and  telling  him  he  need 
not  appear.  That  day's  history  in  Wall  Street  had  dis- 
closed that  the  Erie  directors  had  issued  new  stock  after 
"•  his  Honor  "  had  enjoined  them  from  so  doing.  That  was 


88  SURPRISED    AT   MOBHIKO    DEVOTIONS. 

contempt  despite  a  subsequent  order  of  equal  authority 
authorizing  them  to  do  as  they  pleased  about  it.  At  least, 
so  thought  the  pure-minded  and  immaculate  Barnard, 
consequently  he  suffered  not  the  majesty  of  his  law  to  be 
slighted. 

Before  the  sun  was  well  up  the  next  morning  the  coat- 
tails  of  all  the  sheriffs  and  deputy  sheriffs  that  could  be 
found  in  the  celebrated  new  Court  House  were  stuffed 
full  of  formidable  documents  bearing  at  the  bottom  what 
those  who  claim  to  speak  from  acquaintance  pronounced 
to  be  the  sign  manual  of  George  G.  Barnard,  judex.  The 
said  savage-looking  documents  with  the  formidable  name 
at  the  bottom  were  writs  for  the  arrest  of  the  whole  posse 
of  Erie  directors,  including  "the  body  of  James  Fisk, 
Jr.,"  for  contempt,  and  "bis  Honor"  now  made  these 
pellets  of  justice  as  plentiful  around  the  City  Hall  as  Fisk 
had  made  Erie  stock  in  Wall  Street  the  day  before.  The 
Erie  directors,  after  a  night  of  rest  and  pleasant  dreams  of 
victory  and  new  fortunes  made,  had  assembled  at  their 
headquarters  in  West  Street  again  on  the  morning  of  the 
llth  and  were  on  their  knees  taking  a  fresh  matutinal 
peep  into  the  chostful  of  pleasing  souvenirs  of  their  friend 
Vanderbilt.  In  this  morning  devotion  they  were  sur- 
prised by  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  nearly  out  of  breath 
from  the  haste  he  had  made  to  warn  them  that  a  small 
army  of  Judge  Barnard's  minions  was  in  eager  search  for 
them,  armed  with  writs  for  their  arrest  and  intending  to 
drag  their  precious  bodies  before  "his  Honor"  of  the 


EAELT    LESSONS    IX    LAW.  89 

august  and  terrible  shirt  frill.  Upon  the  explosion  of  this 
shell  in  their  midst,  the  knees  of  Drew  smote  each  other 
as  might  a  sinner's  at  the  sound  of  Gabriel's  trumpet,  his 
countenance  assumed  a  most  woe-begone  expression,  and 
ghastly  spectres  of  Ludlow  Street  jail  haunted  his  aged  vis- 
ion. Fisk's  first  thought  was  for  the  security  of  that  chest. 
He  hastily  closed  the  lid  and  located  himself  with  his  two 
hundred  pounds  and  more  of  flesh  on  top  thereof,  an- 
nounced that  he  should  not  get  off  till  Barnard's  dogs 
took  him  off,  and  called  a  council  of  war  to  meet  around 
him  to  deliberate  on  the  situation. 

At  Brattleboro  in  his  boyhood  he  had  often  seen  perse- 
cuted individuals  whom  the  sheriff  wanted  to  see-  very 
particularly,  run  through  the  covered  bridge  which  here 
spans  the  Connecticut  and  when  they  had  safely  reached 
the  New  Hampshire  side,  turn  suddenly  round,  put  thumb 
to  nose  and  set  their  fingers  in  a  lively  wiggle  at  the 
Vermont  sheriff  and  kindly  inquire  the  state  of  his  health. 
This  early  practical  instruction  in  the  complexity  of 
American  jurisprudence  resulting  from  our  political  sys- 
tem had  amused  him  too  many  times  in  his  youth  to  be 
forgotten  and  his  knowledge  of  law  thus  gained  now 
served  him  a  good  turn.  The  Erie  offices  were  close  upon 
the  river  bank  directly  opposite  the  ferry  to  Jersey  City. 
It  immediately  struck  Fisk  that  it  would  cut  the  Gordian 
knot  of  their  present  predicament  and  be  a  good  joke  on 
Barnard  to  step  aboard  the  next  boat  and  take  a  little 
pleasure  trip  to  the  Jersey  side  of  the  Hudson.  That  being 


90  PBBPAKATlONS   FOR   FLIGHT. 

the  terminus  of  the  Erie  road,  they  could  superintend 
the  affairs  of  their  corporation  as  well  there  as  in  New 
York ;  and  close  by  the  water's  edge  where  the  ferry 
would  land  them  stands  Taylor's  Hotel,  an  establishment 
that  makes  excellent  provision  for  all  the  needs  of  the 
inner  man.  The  proposition  had  so  much  to  recommend 
it  to  their  urgent  necessity  and  so  few  drawbacks  that 
.it  struck  his  fellow  miscrables  as  a  brilliant  idea  and 
was  immediately  adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote.  Hasty 
preparations  for  the  foreign  tour  were  at  once  com- 
menced. Fisk  deftly  removed  his  two  hundred  pound 
corpus  from  the  chest  and  Drew,  as  treasurer,  placed 
therein  all  the  funds  of  the  Erie  treasury,  locked 
it  securely  and  placed  it  in  charge  of  two  trusted 
porters  to  be  taken  to  the  ferry.  Having  thus  at- 
tended to  his  official  duties,  he  proceeded  to  gather  up 
his  private  funds— the  proceeds  of  his  brilliant  manage- 
ment as  confidential  agent  of  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  pool,  the 
reward  of  lending  men  money  to  buy  his  own  stock, 
selling  out  his  most  intimate  friends  and  various  similar 
brilliant  exploits — requiring  several  small  trunks  to  hold 
them,  and  sent  them  in  the  wake  of  the  chest.  Fisk  pro- 
ceeded to  stuff  the  pockets  of  his  coat,  vest  and  pants  with 
the  greenbacks  gathered  as  the  fruit  of  wearing  a  dubious 
look  in  Drew's  presence  the  previous  morning,  smiling  as 
he  did  so  to  note  the  mournful  glances  cast  at  his  pleth- 
oric pockets  by  the  despondent  old  gentleman.  Haste 
being  imperative,  the  preparations  were  few  and  soon 


"  CONSCIENCE   MAKBS   COWARBS."  91 

made,  and  now  the  band,  taking  with  them  such  of  the 
books,  papers  and  more  important  documents  as  they  could 
easily  carry,  made  for  the  ferry,  Fisk  being  careful  to  fall 
in  directly  behind  the  chest,  so  small  had  grown  his  con- 
fidence in  human  nature  in  general  and  in  Daniel  Drew 
in  particular.  As  the  party  emerged  from  the  building 
to  the  sidewalk,  three  or  four  policemen  happened  to  be 
conversing  together  on  the  opposite  corner.  This  being 
the  general  employment  of  New  York  police,  that  circum- 
stance should  not  have  caused  any  alarm ;  but 

"Conscience  makes  cowards  of  us  all," 

and  the  absconding  directors  instinctively  halted  for  a 
moment  at  the  sight  of  the  brass-buttoned  Hibernians  with 
lignum  vitce  clubs,  apprehensive  lest  they  were  stationed 
there  in  the  service  of  Barnard  and  were  waiting  for  this 
appearance.  The  strange  tableau  which  the  directors 
thus  presented;  with  their  confused  countenances  and 
furtive  glances,  naturally  attracted  the  attention  and 
fixed  upon  themselves  the  stare  of.  the  policemen.  Their 
first  apprehension  now  became  certainty,  and  the  in- 
stinctive impulse  to  self-protection  and  personal  safety 
becoming  dominant,  they  broke  and  ran, — not  as  sheep 
do,  in  a  united  band  in  the  direction  of  the  one  that 
starts  first,  but  some  one  way  and  some  another.  In 
their  utter  demoralization,  they  reverted  to  the  condition 
of  mind  existing  before  the  Christian  era,  when  stranger 
and  enemy  we're  synonymous  terms,  and  were  now 


92  QOTTSDONNEHKIiEUZSCHOCKSCHWEBENOTH  1 

anxiously  suspicious  of  every  man  unknown  to  them  that 
they  met,  lest  he  should  prove  to  bo  armed  with  one  of 
Judge  Barnard's  writs  for  their  arrest.  The  meandering 
lines  traced  by  their  flight  under  such  circumstances,  their 
sudden  dodgings  and  duckings '  and  turning  of  sharp 
corners,  were  comic  in  the  extreme.  A  few  of  them  only 
made  at  once  for  the  ferry,  but  of  these  few  Fisk  was  one. 
The  porters  bearing  the  chest  of  funds,  conscious  of  no 
offence,  had  not  been  at  all  disturbed  at  sight  of  the 
policemen  but  had  moved  directly  on  to  the  ferry  and  so 
were  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  party  who  had  halted 
from  fear.  The  boat  with  the  chest  and  porters  on  board 
was  just  starting  when  such  of  the  fugitives  as  ran  in 
that  direction  arrived  upon  the  slip ;  but  Fisk  seeing  that 
chest  was  like  Hans  Breitmann,  the  soldier  in  Maryland, 
when  scouts  came  in  reporting  a  rebel  town  near  by  in 
which  there  was  lager  bier. 

"  Gottsdonnerkreuzschockschwerenoth  I 
How  Breitmann  broked  do  bush  1 
O,  let  me  see  dat  lager  bier  I 
O,  let  me  at  Trim  rush  I " 

He  of  the  plethoric  pockets  made  a  desperate  leap  for  the 
boat,  successfully  accomplished  the  hazardous  feat  and 
was  safe — safe  from  the  water  ready  to  receive  him,  safe 
from  the  wrath  of  the  virtuous  Barnard,  safe  near  that 
chest.  He  wiped  his  brow,  puffed  for  a  moment,  then 
imitated  those  funny  men  he  had  seen  pass  so  hastily 
through  the  bridge  at  Brattleboro  years  before. 


LANDED  Qy  A  PEACEFUL  &HOBX.  93 

The  other  directors  made  their  way,  to  Jersey  in 
straggling  parties  as  best  they  could.  Some  went  by  the 
ferry;  others,  fearing  they  would  now  be  watched  for 
there,  got  themselves  privately  ferried  over  iu  small  row 
boats.  By  nightfall  all  but  two  of  the  most  unoffending 
ones  had  succeeded  in  placing  the  Hudson  between  them- 
selves and  danger.  The  two., luckless,  ones  felj  into  the 
sheriffs  clutches  and  were  marched  into  the  august  pres- 
ence of  Judge  Barnard  but  were  released  under  heavy  bail. 
As  soon  as  Fisk  had  reached  the  land  .of  safety  and 
taken  some  refreshments,  he  took  up  his  position  at  the 
head  of  the  slip  in  the  ferry  house  and,  as  the  successive 
boats  came  in,  walked  up  and  down  with  his  hands  in  his 
trowsers  pockets,  one  of  Park  and  Tilford's  finest  Ila,- 
vauas  in  his  mouth,  overflowing  with  spirits  and  humor, 
and  made  many  kind  inquiries  about  his  friends  Barnard 
and  Vanderbiit.  He  welcomed  each  small  squad  of  his 
fellow  exiles  with  much  delight  as  they  straggled  in, 
taking  them  warmly  by  the  hand  with  the  cheery  words 
"Well,  boys,  how's  everything  over'n  York  ?  " 

"With  the  first  shades  of  evening  twilight,  March  llth, 
1868,  a  merrier  company  than  is  often  gathered  around 
the  festive  board  in  Taylor's  Hotel  sat  down  for  "  a  feast 
of  reason  and  a  flow  of  soul."  United  once  more,  with 
the  exception  of  the  hapless  two,  after  many  struggles 
and  dangers, 

"  — mnltnm  ille  et  tends  juctatns  ct  alto 

Vi  Superum,  ttevi  mcmorem  Barnardis  ob  iram, 

Malta  quoque  et  bello  passus," 


94  "  POK8A.IT   BT   HAEO   OLTM." 

a  right  merry  band  were  they  now.  Safe  from  all  harm 
or  intrusion,  protected  by  the  broad  rcgis  of  the  land  of 
the  Camden  &  Amboy  Railroad,  other-wise  known  as  the 
State  of  Ne\v  Jersey,  the  home  of  large  mosquitoes,  they 
recounted  the  incidents  of  the  past  three  days  with  an 
abundant  flow  of  wit  and  wine,  enjoying  that  weird  fasci- 
nation and  pleasure  that  hovers  over  dangers  well  passed. 


cjjn    ;-:•  .oy 

Imr.   yjwwa.'lft  .  iwui   oxU   f."Jt>;-»t.I/Hii  ^-i'I!.£C  uu'w  ,./. 
otit  .r~  -uoi;:,-aj«f  &Li  \ju  ioo;  t>U  ,.u0&;iiiL?o$3i  OOTO^.  r.^;  i. 
ovi-.i--.  ^ua  o/li.£fi  ..r-n«  e?»o;r  'c?^  euJ  si  qiia  oJi  !•  fifi^ii 
till  el  .-;;"»fiij-i  ti;:  i;;i..v  .:.-vv.-f>  :  :r;5.<Ty  />;jiiic'/r  ^cri  Oirrt-.- 
-rJV\   iiOiiii  h'l.'iu.  ;  JT  .'iuii  /'i>ri  ^o  ouo  ,gio  Joocj  .-TOSVK-TJ 
fiOi-if".'I  lijiA.  rfivrirl  ,:!jiw  5aiv;».'U-!'.'.vo  «iUt-i>j.:i  elil  11! 


o  v/'c-il  .u 


oil.:  Jo  {•nlntauj,  fei-rrai  J>  ,.':":  jrr;r;ui..i—  " 
.;».  .ctiTiiognS  IT 
I'Ki  3f>  cjpei'p  - 


ot  OOO.fiTP.*  "io   ir.  i  --.  -vis   ]--nr'^r--">i  nt^sft   .000.0^0.4-3 


•  :  u;a<W'il&f?i!ii    '.'._.  •  .i.       ;  .' . : •<  ')•!    Lilted-   kill •-!-: 

CHAPTER  VL 

EXILED      IN    JERSEY A      QEEAT    SCAEE    AND    NOBODY    HTTHT— 

SECEET   TEIPS   ACROSS    THE    HUDSON" DEEW    SHADOWED    AND 

EUCHEED BATTLE      IN  .  THE     LEGISLATX7EE A     SETTLEMENT 

HOME  AGAIN— -ON  THE  WITNESS-STAND. 

When  the  exiled  directors  had  fully  vented  their  humor 
and  were  ready  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  practical 
affairs  of  their  trust  once  more,  the  first  step  was  to 
secure  a  firm  legal  footing  in  their  new  abode.  An  agent 
was  immediately  sent  to  Trenton,  a  bill  making  the  Erie 
Hail  way  a  New  Jersey  corporation  was  pushed  through 
the  Legislature  in  two  hours,  was  soon  signed  by  tho 
Governor,  and  Erie  was  now  perfectly  at  home  in  its  new 
quarters. 

Another  practical  question  that  immediately  presented 
itself  for  settlement  related  to  the  division  of  the  spoils  of 
the  recent  campaign.  Of  course  the  $10,000,000  of  new 
bonds  issued  had  not  been  negotiated  at  par.  For  the 
$5,000,000  worth  issued  to  Mr.  Fisk  the  Erie  treasury 
realized  03,625,000,  and  as  the  stock  into  which  he 
converted  his  bonds  had  been  disposed  of  for  about 


d6  GBOWLIXU   OVEK   TBLE   SPOILS. 

$4,000,000,  there  remained  the  sum  of  $375,000  to  be 
divided  among  the  parties  to  compensate  them  for  their 
valuable  services  in  getting  the  stock  upon  the  market 
When  it  was  decided  to  issue  the  $10,000,000  of  new 
bonds,  a  written  agreement  was  entered  into  by  Drew, 
Fisk,  Gould  and  another,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
profits  should  be  divided ;  but  Fisk  having  come  to  put 
little  faith  in  Drew's  agreements,  even  though  in  writing, 
declined  to  hand  over  to  the  keeper  of  Mr.  Vander bill's 
late  pool  the  $375,000  which  he  held  as  the  profit  of  his 
half  of  the  transaction,  till  Drew  also  accounted  for  his 
profits  in  the  late  campaign,  in  accordance  with  his  agreo- 
,  ment.  The  wrangle  was  finally  settled  by  Fisk  giving 
the  treasurer  his  check  for  $375,000  instead  of  surren- 
dering the  cash  in  his  possession.  This  check  was 
uncertified,  which  of  course  made  it  nothing  but  a  due 
bill,  and  therefore  of  just  as  much  value  as  Mr.  Drew's 
agreement,  and  no  more.  It  was  however  accompanied 
by  about  $180,000  worth  of  stock,  as  collateral,  and  the 
amount  realized  on  this  may  be  taken  as  the  treasurer's 
profits  from  this  single  item  of  the  day's  transactions,  for 
.history  does  not  record  that  Mr,  Drew  ever  £pt  that  check 
of  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  for  $375,000  cashed,  llalf  that  sum 
being  equally  divided  among  the  other  three  parties  to 
the  agreement,  Fisk  and  Gould  must  have  profited 
upward  of  $60,000  each  by  this  one  item  of  tbo  day's 

•     9' 

transactions,  and.  they  w.ere  not  men  that  would  fail  to 
tin.     i\i,'i.'ff     v*-^    jioclj*     Ji4-"    " "    s^'i    '  '    ' '  •'•  — i*<c>c?    I 

have  several  items  of  a  like  profitable  nature. 

]:ro-J£   -;.  .   ':  I     .3fcOf|a!f>    ae€kf  ben    EinTod    Si! 


CHEATING   PUBLIC   SENTIHBKT.  97 

These  two  matters  being  settled,  the  next  thing  to  be 
attended  to  was  public  sentiment.  Their  proceedings  had 
been  of  a  nature  that  would  have  created  a  very  unpleas- 
ant odor  around  their  names  in  Wall  Street,  even  had 
they  remained  upon  the  field  and  exerted  themselves  to 
counteract  an  unfavorable  judgment;  and  the  evil  wrought 
by  their  deeds  had  been  greatly  enhanced  by  the  sudden 
withdrawal  from  circulation  of  so  many  millions  of 
currency  as  they  had  carried  with  them  to  Jersey.  Money 
had  been  made  very  scarce  all  at  once,  causing  serious 
embarrassment  in  financial  matters  and  still  further  de- 
pressing the  stock  market  heavily  beyond  what  was  done 
by  the  demoralizing  effect  of  the  issue  of  $10,000,000 
of  new  stock.  Both  wind  and  tide  had  thus  been  set 
strongly  against  them  and  the  current  was  increasing 
daily  as  the  evil  effects  of  their  doings  developed.  But 
far  worse  than  all  this  was  the  stench  of  having  fled  the 
State.  The  public  had  long  since  grown  so  indifferent  to 
the  course  of  events  in  Wall  Street  that,  whatever  their 
exploits  there,  it  would  have  been  regarded  only  as  a 
"  diamond  cut  diamond "  proceeding  and  after  a  little 
harmless  noise  of  the  bulls  and  bears  and  a  few  equally 
harmless  newspaper  articles,  all  would  have  been  forgotten 
and  their  names  would  not  have  been  materially  injured. 
But  they  now  rested  under  the  stigma  of  being  fugitives 
from  justice,  and  that  circumstance  alone  branded  them 
with  great  disgrace  in  the  public  eye.  Therefore  thej 
now  exerted  themselves  strenuously  to  counteract  all  this 

D 


98  DEBATING    PUBLIC    SENTIMENT. 

and  turn  the  tide  in  their  favor.  To  all  the  reporters, 
interviewers  and  committees  that  now  visited  them  by  the 
score  from  every  quarter,  they  represented  themselves  as 
the  most  disinterested  and  self-sacrificing  champions  of 
the  public  interests  against  the  monopolizing  schemes  of 
Yanderbilt  and  affirmed  that  all  they  had  done  was  not 
only  a  justifiable  but  absolutely  necessary  means  to  that 
most  desirable  end,  and  their  only  way  to  defend  the  road 
committed  to  their  trust.  And  instead  of  being  fugitives 
from  justice,  they  claimed  to  be  martyrs  to  the  public  weal 
and  persecuted  victims  of  the  most  corrupt  judge  that 
ever  disgraced  a  bench,  alleging  that  Barnard  was  nothing 
but  the  obsequious  tool  of  Vanderbilt,  in  league  with  him 
to  speculate  in  Erie  stock,  and  scandalously  abusing  his 
power  and  position  as  a  judge  to  harrass  them  for  thwart- 
ing his  knavish  schemes.  As  these  allegations  had  a  firm 
basis  in  the  facts  of  the  case,  the  position  in  which  they 
pictured  themselves  was  very  plausible  and  the  tub  thus 
constructed  to  sail  a  stormy  sea  would  have  been  an  ex- 
cellent one  had  it  only  had  a  bottom.  But  to  think  of  Fisk 
and  Gould  in  the  character  of  self-sacrificing  guardians 
of  public  and  corporate  interests  strikes  one  as  extremely 
comic,  and  how  much  they  surpassed  Vanderbilt  in  seek- 
ing the  welfare  of  the  Erie  Railway  and  the  commercial 
interests  of  New  York  the  sequel  has  left  no  room  to 
doubt ;  but  their  character  was  not  then  developed  or 
known  and  Mr.  Eldridge,  their  president,  enjoyed  a  high 
reputation  both  as  a  railroad  manager  and  a  man  of 


NEW    TOKK    BOTTOHS.  99 

character.  Their  agreement  with  Vanderbilt  at  the  time 
of  their  election  had  not  yet  leaked  out  to  the  public  and 
their  several  purposes  were  not  yet  patent.  Therefore 
their  tub,  bottomless  though  it  was,  sailed  very  well  tem- 
porarily. None  of  their  visitors  departed  hungry  or 
thirsty.  All  left  with  a  very  favorable  impression  of  the 
kind-heartedness  of  the  exiles,  and  the  spirit  of  hospitality 
and  bonhomie  that  pervaded  Taylor's  Hotel  distilled  a 
gentle  infusion  of  roses  into  the  ink  of  the  newspaper 
men,  who  now  clearly  saw  two  sides  to  the  question  and 
began  to  think  the  generous  spirits  chased  out  of  New 
York  by  Judge  Barnard  not  so  black  as  they  had  been 
painted. 

And  now  occurred  a  most  ludicrous  incident  which 
served  to  help  the  exiles  somewhat  in  turning  sympathy 
in  their  favor.  On  the  16th,  a  large  body  of  New  York 
"roughs"  of  the  worst  type  made  their  appearance  in 
Jersey  City,  about  the  ferry  house,  Erie  depot  and  Tay- 
lor's Hotel.  The  news  immediately  spread  that  Vander- 
bilt had  offered  a  reward  of  $50,000  for  Drew,  Fisk  or 
Eldridge  and  this  party  had  come  over  intending  to  kidnap 
all  the  directors  they  could  find  and  take  them  back  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  terrible  Barnard  by  main  force  and 
with  as  much  violence  to  Jersey  law  as  might  be  neces- 
sary. Great  excitement  ran  through  the  city  at  the  news 
and  a  large4  crowd  soon  gathered  in  the  vicinity.  A  large 
number  of  Erie  employes  was  immediately  summoned 
from  the  work-shops  and  formed  into  a  body  guard  to 


100  »OKT  TATLOB. 

protect  the  directors,  and  Taylor's  Hotel  was  at  once  and 
not  inaptly  dubbed  "Fort  Taylor."  A  heavy  detach- 
ment of  police  was  detailed  for  service  within  and  about 
"the  Fort"  and  the  whole  force  of  the  city  was 
instructed  that  if  a  rocket  were  sent  up  any  time  during 
the  night  they  should  regard  it  as  a  signal  to  hasten  to 
the  threatened  quarter.  General  fear  of  a  riot  prevailed, 
the  stores  were  closed  in  the  evening,  the  streets  in  the 
disturbed  quarter  were  avoided  and  the  militia  was  placed 
Tinder  orders  to  rally  at  a  signal.  The  excitement  of  the 
situation  was  rather  enjoyed  by  the  directors,  and 
especially  by  Mr.  Fisk,  who  now  bustled  about  with  a 
most  determined  looking  visage,  mounted  his  guard, 
issued  orders,  puffed  away  at  his  cigar,  kept  up  a  con- 
stant discharge  of  puns,  vowed  he  would  never  be  taken 
alive,  and  braved  all  the  terrors  and  hazards  of  the  deep 
and  Judge  Barnard's  jurisdiction  by  daring  trips  across 
the  Hudson  in  a  small  row  boat  under  cover  of  the 
darkness  and  fog  to  act  as  a  spy  in  the  camp  of  his 
enemies,  a  la  King  Alfred,  and  get  something  good  at 
Delmonico's  and  elsewhere.  No  demonstration  whatever 
was  made  by  the  roughs,  most  of  whom  returned  to  New 
York  within  an  hour  or  two  after  their  first  appearance. 
Fort  Taylor  was  kept  heavily  garrisoned,  however,  and 
continued  to  wear  on  the  inside  the  air  of  a  besieged 
fortress.  New  rumors  of  an  imminent  attack  came  into 
camp  at  intervals  of  two  or  three  days,  to  renew  the 
excitement  and  prevent  the  situation  from  becoming 


JL   OBBAT   SCARS.  lOl 

monotonous.  This  state  of  things  was  kept  up  for  two 
weeks,  when,  the  novelty  and  excitement  of  the  episode 
having  grown  stale,  the  self-imposed  siege  was  raised 
without  a  single  instance  of  disorder  having  occurred,  all 
the  roughs  having  long  ago  retired  to  their  favorite 
haunts  in  the  Five  Points  and  elsewhere  and  quite 
forgotten  the  affair  in  their  active  training  for  Alder- 
men. 

A  great  handle  was  made  of  this  affair  by  the  exiles  to 
show  the  reckless  character  of  their  persecutors  and  turn 
sentiment  against  Vanderbilt,  as  it  could  only  be  a  man 
whose  schemes  were  villainous  and  who  hesitated  at  no 
acts  of  violence  and  lawlessness,  that  would  resort  to  the 
assistance  of  New  York  roughs  to  help  him  on.  Of  course 
Yanderbilt  had  no  more  to  do  with  it  than  had  the  King 
of  Siam  and  it  was  the  height  of  absurdity  to  represent 
him  as  doing  such  a  thing.  It  would  be  much  more 
supposable  that  Fisk  himself  hired  the  mea  to  come  over 
and  that  the  whole  affair  was  a  contrived  plot  to  excite  an 
unfavorable  sentiment  against  Vanderbilt.  At  any  rate 
this  turn  was  given  to  it. 

But,  far  more  than  by  any  of  these  means,  a  popular 
feeling  in  favor  of  th«  exiles  and  a  disposition  to  look 
upon  them  as  the  opponents  of  monopoly  and  champions 
of  the  interests  of  the  public  and  the  Erie  Railway,  was 
created  by  their  lowering  the  charges  for  fare  and  freight 
nearly  one  third,  entering  into  a  fierce  competition  with 
the  Commodore  and  hiq  Central  and  running  their  road 


102  l-AKES    AND    FKEIGHI    REDUCED, 

at  losing  rates,  which  the  money  Vanderbilt  had  supplied 
them  "with  easily  enabled  them  to  do. 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  efforts  to  turn  sentiment  in 
their  favor,  a  bill  to  prevent  the  consolidation  of  the  Erie- 
and  Central  roads  under  the  control  of  one  man,  or  parties 
in  his  interest,  to  guard  against  monopoly  of  railroads,, 
to  establish  a  broad  gauge  connection  to  the  West,  and  to- 
legalize  the  recent  new  issue  of  Erie  stock,  was  introduced 
into  the  Legislature  at  Albany.  Under  the  various 
influences  the  exiles  had  brought  to  bear,  a  strong  senti- 
ment now  set  in  in  their  favor,  and  petitions  and  memorials 
and  letters  poured  in  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  especially 
from  New  York  and  all  along  the  line  of  the  Erie  road,, 
upon  the  grave  law-makers  at  Albany,  praying  for  the 
passage  of  the  bill  to  defeat  Vanderbilt' s  monopoly 
schemes,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  press  took  up  the* 
cudgel  on  the  same  side.  But  Vanderbilt  was  no  com- 
mon antagonist.  He  had  started  with  thinga  much  in  hia 
favor,  or  against  the  runaways,  and  had  done  nothing  of 
a  doubtful  legal  look.  The  New  York  Courts  had  given 
him  their  fullest  sanction  and  the  adverse  order  which  thfr 
Drew  party  had  obtained  of  the  Brooklyn  judge  to  serve 
their  purposes  of  the  10th  had  been  indignantly  dismissed 
on  the  day  for  its  hearing,  the  judge  intimating  that  it 
had  been  procured  in  a  scandalous  and  fraudulent 
manner,  thus  making  it  look  that  Vanderbilt's  cause  was- 
wholly  within,  while  that  of  the  Drew  party  was  wholly, 
without,  the  pale  of  law.  The  sentiment  and  influence  of 


TANDEKBILT'S  METAL  TRIED.  103 

Wall  Street,  too,  had  been  decidedly  in  favor  of  Vander- 
bilt  at  the  first  and  had  steadily  increased,  for  matterg 
there  had  been  placed  in  a  very  trying  and  critical 
position  by  the  action  of  the  fugitives,  and  were  daily 
getting  worse.  All  stocks  were  falling,  money  was  very 
scarce  and  commanded  high  rates  of  interest,  many 
brokers  were  failing,  and  the  turn  which  affairs  should 
take  in  the  crisis  depended  wholly  upon  the  course  of 
Vanderbilt.  He  was  bearing  a  tremendous  load  upon 
his  shoulders.  All  his  stocks  were  falling,  gradually  but 
constantly.  With  the  least  sign  of  wavering  or  weakness, 
he  would  be  swamped  and  there  would  result  a  greater 
crash  in  the  stock  market  than  had  been  known  since  the 
era  of  stock  speculation  commenced.  In  this  hour  of 
supreme  trial  the  metal  of  which  he  was  made  gave  no 
uncertain  ring.  His  genius  as  well  as  the  immensity  of 
his  resources  now  loomed  up  like  the  shaft  of  Bunker 
Hill.  With  unshaken  nerves  he  issued  instructions  to 
his  brokers,  holding  the  market  as  he  wished,  went 
off  for  a  drive  with  his  fast  horses  in  the  afternoon, 
and  played  whist  in  the  evening,  the  merriest  and 
seemingly  the  freest  from  care  of  any  of  the  company. 
But  there  were  circumstances  not  known  to  the  public 
that  enabled  him  to  see  clearly  and  feel  confident.  The 
exiles  took  to  their  New  Jersey  life  not  unpleasantly 
at  first,  but  the  Pater  Anchises  of  this  epic  soon  grew 
lonesome,  despondent  and  homesick  in  his  expatriation 
and  became  anxious  for  some  settlement  of  the  difficulties 


104 


BLESSINGS    OF   THE    SABBATH. 


that  would  allow  kirn  to  return  to  his  home  and  attend 
Methodist  prayer  meetings  with  his  family  once  more. 
While  the  young  and  jovial  Fisk  continued  in  the  finest 
spirits,  Drew  pined  and  refused  to  be  comforted,  and 
when  the  merry  company  gathered  around  their  evening 
camp  fires,  smoked,  listened  to  Fisk's  puns,  laughed  and 
sung  war  songs,  the  old  man  broke  in  at  intervals  with 
the  strangely  discordant  refrain,  "  I  want  to  go  home.'* 
Sunday  disarms  sheriffs  and  Judge  Barnard,  and, 
pleasantly  as  time  seemed  to  hang  on  their  hands,  it  was 
amusing  to  note  the  promptitude  with  which  the  whole 
party  laid  down  their  pipes  and  started  for  the  ferry 
when  the  clock  struck  twelve  Saturday  night.  They 
appreciated  the  blessings  of  Christianity  or  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  very  highly  now  and  improved  the 
immunity  it  gave  them  to  appear  boldly  in  their  familiar 
haunts.  Fisk  may  have  attended  church  but  Drew 
embraced  the  opportunity  to  call  on  his  friend  Vanderbilt. 
Monday  morning  found  them  back  at  their  posts  with 
military  promptitude.  But  Drew  was  now  suspected. 
He  was  missed  from  barracks  at  night  and  Fisk  detailed 
a  detective  to  watch  all  his  movements.  He  was  followed 
up  the  shore  to  Weehawken  ferry,  thence  across  to  the 
city  and  to  the  house  of  Vanderbilt.  The  detective 
returned  and  reported.  It  was  as  had  been  suspected. 
Drew  was  intriguing  for  a  compromise  and  they  knew  he 
would  do  anything  with  his  friends  and  Erie  if  he  could 
only  escape  unharmed  himself.  Soon  it  was  found  the 


DBEW  SHADOWED   AND   EUCHRED.  105 

funds  of  the  Erie  treasury  had  been  taken  to  New  York 
by  Mr.  Treasurer  Drew.  On  learning  this  Fisk  immedi- 
ately got  all  of  Drew's  private  funds,  which  were  still  ia 
the  Jersey  bank,  attached.  No  one  unacquainted  with 
the  old  gentleman's  facial  peculiarities  can  imagine  the 
comic  expression  of  mingled  surprise  and  disappointment 
that  marked  his  countenance  when  he  returned  from 
what  he  supposed  a  secret  journey  and  found  how  com- 
pletely his  pupil  had  euchred  him.  He  found  he  had 
been  training  up  a  power  to  be  more  than  a  match  for 
him.  The  funds  of  the  Erie  treasury  came  back  where 
James  Fisk,  Jr.,  could  daily  enjoy  the  sight  of  them. 
These  secret  visits  told  Vanderbilt  that  the  position  of 
things  across  the  river  was  not  pleasant  and  made  him 
confident  that  no  more  Erie  stock  would  be  issued,  which 
was  his  greatest  danger,  and  he  saw  that  he  had  only  to 
hold  things  as  they  were  to  force  his  enemies  to  terms 
ultimately. 

Despite  all  the  efforts  of  his  opponents,  therefore,  the 
star  of  Vanderbilt  was  still  much  in  the  ascendant  and 
the  moment  anything  was  to  be  done  at  Albany  the  su- 
periority of  his  position  at  once  showed  itself.  He  had 
been  long  familiar  with  the  ways  of  the  New  York 
Legislature  and  the  considerations  most  potent  with  law- 
makers, and  the  Central,  of  which  he  was  now  master, 
had  long  had  things  quite  its  own  way  there.  Conse- 
quently the  bill  introduced  in  the  interest  of  the  Drew 
party  was  promptly  rejected  on  the  27th  of  March  by  the 


106  DBFBAT   OF   THE    EEIE   BILL. 

decisive   vote  of  83  to  32,  despite  all  the  petitions  that 
had  been  sent  in  requesting  its  passage. 

This  overwhelming  defeat  taught  the  Fort  Taylor 
warriors  that  public  sentiment  was  not  exactly  the  harp 
to  play  upon  if  they  would  charm  the  ear  of  legislators, 
and  that  they  could  not  successfully  wield  more  potent 
influences  at  such  arm's-length  while  their  antagonist  was 
on  the  battle  field  in  propria  persona.  It  was  decided 
that  some  one  of  the  principals  must  be  present  at  the 
scene  of  action  instead  of  longer  trusting  to  mere  agents 
and  telegraph  and  mail,  and  Jay  Gould  was  detailed 
from  headquarters  to  go. to  Albany  to  remove  the  preju- 
dices of  the  legislators  and  place  things  before  them  in  a 
clearer  light,  taking  along  half  a  million  dollars  for  pocket 
money  and  hotel  expenses.  He  made  his  advent  in 
Albany  March  30th,  registered  his  name  at  the  Delavan 
House,  took  one  of  the  finest  suites  of  rooms,  and  had 
just  got  nicely  installed  in  them  when  he  received  a  very 
urgent  invitation  to  visit  New  York,  the  invitation  being 
signed  by  Judge -George  G.  Barnard  and  presented  by  a 
gentleman  so  excessively  polite  in  his  attentions  as  to 
insist  that  Mr.  Gould  should  accept  the  invitation  and 
either  go  down  with  him  immediately  or  give  assurance 
in  the  shape  of  half  a  million  of  dollars  that  he  would 
appear  at  the  appointed  place  on  the  following  Saturday. 
There  was  important  work  on  hand  at  Albany  that 
needed  attending  to  immediately,  therefore  for  this  and 
other  reasons  the  required  assurance  was  given  in  prefer- 

1  6  f 


LEGISLATIVE    MACHINES!.  107 

ence  to  going  with  the  officious  gentleman,  and  Mr.  Gould 

set  earnestly  about  the  business  in  hand. 

The  New  York  Legislature  has  for  several  years 
manifested  unlimited  faith  in  "  investigating  committees  " 
as  an  invaluable  adjunct  to  legislative  machinery  and  as 
the  most  reliable  and  efficient  mode  of  getting  at  the 
truth  in  many  matters.  Especially  is  this  the  favorite 
method  of  procedure  if  a  large  corporation  is  concerned  or 
a  question  involving  a  large  amount  of  money  comes  up 
for  consideration.  Either  some  standing  committee  is 
directed  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  things  generally  and 
report  its  opinion  for  the  information  and  guidance  of  the 
Legislature,  or,  in  an  extraordinary  case,  a  special  com- 
mittee is  appointed  for  the  purpose.  As  the  committee 
report,  so  the  Legislature  is  pretty  sure  to  decide,  hence 
the  committee  often  become  men  whom  it  is  very  impor- 
tant to  persuade  by  all  possible  arguments  to  take  a 
favorable  view  of  matters.  It  is  this  circumstance  that 
has  rendered  the  Chairmanship  of  the  Committee  on  Rail- 
ways a  position  so  very  much  sought  after  and  the  next 
most  desirable  place  after  the  Speakership.  The 
successful  candidate  for  Speaker  generally  assuages  the 
disappointment  of  his  most  prominent  rival  in  his  own 
party  by  appointing  him  Chairman  of  this  committee,  for 
then,  though  he  has  failed  of  the  highest  honors,  he  is 
pretty  sure  of  returning  home  at  the  close  of  the  session 
comfortably  provided  for  for  life.  And  in  fact  all  the 
members  of  this  committee,  unless  they  have  uncom- 


108  0102    MB.    MATT001C. 

monly    poor    luck,   can    rely   upon    returning    to    their 
constituents  very  much  bettered  in  worldly  condition. 

Even  prior  to  the  last  grand  master-stroke  of  the  Erie 
directors  in  Wall  Street,  the  queer  movements  of  the 
stock,  the  general  rumors  of  corruption  and  unlawful 
acts  and  the  extraordinary  litigation  instituted  against  the 
managers,  had  produced  such  a  strong  impression  that 
there  was  something  decidedly  wrong  that  a  special 
committee  of  five,  to  inquire  into  and  report  upon  the 
condition  of  the  Erie  Railway,  was  appointed  by  the 
Legislature  March  5th.  This  committee  achieved  great 
temporary  celebrity  and  was  known  as  the  "  Mattoon 
Committee,"  from  the  name  of  its  most  conspicuous  mem- 
ber. Now,  Mr.  Mattoon  was  not  one  of  your  bigoted, 
prejudiced,  opinionated  men  who  prejudge  a  case  and 
having  formed  a  bias  beforehand,  shut  their  minds  to  the 
influence  of  all  arguments  and  refuse  to  look  at  the 
matter  in  a  new  light  or  modify  their  opinion.  He  was 
one  of  those  lofty  natures  whose  minds  are  always  open 
to  conviction,  who  are  not  only  willing  but  even  eager  to 
receive  further  light  and  be  convinced  that  their  views  are 
erroneous  and  delight  to  admit  their  error  and  adopt  the 
right  position.  Being  of  this  peculiar  mental  cast,  Mr. 
Mattoon  very  naturally  deemed  it  indispensable  to  go 
straight  to  the  fountain  head  for  light  immediately  upon 
being  appointed  on  the  investigating  committee.  He 
visited  the  chiefs  of  the  Drew  faction  to  hear  their  side  of 
the  story  and  listen  carefully  to  their  arguments,  and 


WOKTH   OF   THE    LAST   WORD.  109 

then  he  visited  Mr.  Vanderbilt  to  hear  his  cause  and  the 
opposing  arguments.  So  intricate  was  the  case  and  so 
difficult  was  it  to  get  at  the  real  merits  that  a  single 
hearing  seemed  not  to  set  the  Mattoon  mind  and  con- 
science at  rest  as  to  the  right  of  the  matter  and  his  duty 
in  the  premises,  and  therefore  he  found  it  necessary  to 
make  several  visits  to  each  party  in  order  that  full  justice 
might  be  done.  Singularly  enough,  Mr.  Mattoon  seemed 
ever  to  incline  to  the  views  of  the  party  that  had  his  ear 
last,  hence  it  became  a  matter  of  much  more  than  usual 
importance  who  should  have  the  last  word.  Some  base 
spirits,  judging  from  their  own  evil  natures,  insinuated 
that  something  more  powerful  than  mere  verbal  argu- 
ments were  brought  to  bear  upon  this  mind  ever  so  open 
to  conviction,  but  it  may  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  a  certain 
type  of  mind  that  these  insinuations  were  only  vile 
calumnies  to  state  that  there  has  never  been  produced  in 
the  matter  any  evidence  that  would  constitute  "legal 
proof."  The  investigation  had  been  thus  carried  on  for 
more  than  a  month,  during  which  time  each  party  had 
several  times  thought  the  unbiased  mind  finally  fixed  in 
its  favor,  but  only  to  find  itself  granted  a  furthe*  hearing. 
When  at  last  the  committee  felt  ready  to  report,  it  so 
happened  that  the  other  four  members  were  equally 
divided,  two  desiring  a  favorable  and  two  an  unfavorable 
report  upon  the  condition  of  the  Erie  Eailway  and  its 
management.  Mr.  Mattoon  finding  himself  thus  holding 
the  deciding  vote,  became  suddenly  impressed  with  the 


110  GOULD    ASTOUNDED. 

gravity  and  responsibility  of  his  position  and  the  great 
necessity  of  proceeding  conscientiously  in  the  matter  and 
requested  a  little  further  time  to  hear  any  further 
argument  that  might  be  offered,  reflect  and  make  up  his 
mind.  The  report  was  still  further  delayed  for  his 
accommodation,  and  the  matter  stood  in  this  position 
when  Mr.  Gould  reached  Albany.  Being  now  on  the 
ground,  he  felt  his  chance  for  getting  the  important  last 
word,  and  so  a  favorable  report,  was  much  improved  and 
it  was  for  this  reason  that  he  much  preferred  not  to 
accompany  Judge  Barnard's  polite  messenger  to  New 
York  immediately.  He  now  applied  himself  vigorously 
to  bring  the  most  cogent  arguments  to  bear  upon  Mr. 
Mattoon  and  remove  the  last  cobwebs  of  doubt  from  the 
mind  of  the  conscientious  Senator.  And  he  finally  parted 
with  him  satisfied  that  he  had  had  the  last  word,  supplied 
the  dust  that  was  to  turn  the  scales,  and  that  a  favorable 
report  would  be  made  so  that  further  legislation  favor- 
able to  Erie  would  be  easily  secured.  The  report  was 
made  April  1st,  and  it  was  unfavorable  to  Erie.  Mr. 
Mattoon  had  placed  his  signature  with  the  two  whose 
views  were  of  the  Vanderbilt  hue.  Gould  expressed 
himself  "  utterly  astounded,"  when  he  heard  how  Mat- 
toon  had  voted,  but  still  he  despaired  not. 

On  Saturday  morning  Mr.  Gould  presented  himself  in 
accordance  with  Judge  Barnard's  invitation,  and  after 
much  wrangling  and  some  singular  legal  gymnastics  he 
was  remanded  to  the  charge  of  the  sheriff.  He,  however, 


AW   ILLNESS   NOT   SEBIOUS.  Ill 

speedily  made  his  way  back  to  Albany,  taking  the  sheriff 
along  as  a  travelling  companion.  When  the  time  arrived 
for  the  sheriff  to  produce  the  body  of  Jay  Gould  in  court 
in  New  York  again,  Mr.  Gould  did  as  some  Sophomores 
do  in  college  when  they  wish  to  get  away  from  recitations 
for  a  short  time — he  fell  suddenly  ill  and  got  a  physician's 
certificate  that  he  was  under  treatment  and  should  be 
excused  from  attendance.  With  this  instead  of  the  body, 
the  sheriff  went  back  to  New  York  and  the  magic  certifi- 
cate of  the  physician  seemed  to  satisfy  the  mysteriously 
abating  ire  of  the  New  York  judge.  And  as  the 
Sophomore  finds  that  he  is  in  no  great  danger  soon  after 
the^  physician  has  left  a  prescription,  a  certificate  of  ill 
health,  and  departed,  but  tears  up  the  prescription,  care- 
fully preserves  the  certificate  and  goes  off  to  visit  some 
young  lady  cousin,  so  Mr.  Gould  found  that  he  was  not 
in  too  feeble  a  condition  to  devote  himself  earnestly  to  the 
difficult  task  of  reversing  the  unfavorable  votes  that  had 
been  given  and  turning  the  tide  in  favor  of  Erie.  . 

The  defeat  of  the  Erie  bill  March  27th  and  the  un- 
favorable report  of  the  committee  April  1st,  seemed  to 
announce  the  entire  triumph  of  Vanderbilt  and  the 
certain  and  speedy  doom  of  Drew  and  his  adherents. 
Their  influence  was  very  sensibly  felt  in  the  Stock  Ex- 
change, and  Central,  which  had  fallen  from  132  to  109  in 
the  three  weeks  of  depression,  instantly  rallied  again  three 
or  four  per  cent,  and  other  stocks  felt  the  influence.  But 
Gould  was  not  in  the  least  disheartened.  He  surveyed 


112  60ULD    HETURN8    TO    TH1C    CHAEOB. 

the  position  carefully  and  determined  to  win  the  smile  of 
the  Legislature  yet.  His  rooms  at  the  Delavan  House 
became  the  favorite  resort  of  many  of  the  legislators. 
They  all  departed  with  smiling  faces,  and  Mr.  Gould 
soon  had  little  left  of  his  check  book  except  the  stumps. 
On  the  13th  of  April  a  bill  of  precisely  the  same  import  as 
that  rejected  by  the  House  March  27th,  was  introduced 
into  the  Senate  and  the  battle  for  its  success  now  became 
gigantic.  One  man  was  said  to  have  come  to  Albany 
furnished  with  $100,000  to  work  for  Vanderbilt's  interest 
and  to  have  been  given  $70,000  by  Gould  to  run  away 
with  Vanderbilt's  $100,000.  One  Senator  was  openly 
accused  of  receiving  $15,000  from  one  side  and  $20,000 
from  the  other.  Many  minor  incidents  of  the  struggle 
were  equally  unique  and  interesting.  It  was  a  battle  of 
the  giants  and  Erie  must  win  this  time  or  surrender  at  dis- 
cretion. On  the  18th  the  bill  passed  the  Senate  by  a  vote 
of  17  to  12— Mr.  Mattoon  voting  for  the  bill.  The 
result  took  the  public  by  surprise  and  Wall  Street  felt  a 
little  shudder.  The  bill  was  sent  down  to  the  House  and 
the  members  of  the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature  were 
rubbing  their  hands  with  delight  that  it  had  now  come 
their  turn  to  be  tickled  as  the  upper  branch  had  been. 
The  lobby  was  out  in  full  force  in  light  drab  overcoats, 
diamond  studs,  large  watch-chains  and  rubicund  noses. 
Every  train  from  New  York  brought  new  recruits  for  the 
battle.  April  20th  was  the  day  for  the  grand  final  shock, 
and  the  members  took  their  seats  of  honor  eager  for 


THE   ERIE   BILL   PASSED.  113 

business  to  begin,  each  hoping  his  vote  would  be  an 
object  of  Gould  and  Vanderbilt's  rival  bidding.  The 
decisive  moment  approached  and  the  bill  -was  called  up. 
In  a  few  minutes  a  sickening  shudder  like  that  which  was 
felt  in  Wall  Street  the  day  Fisk  threw  the  last  $5,000,000 
of  Erie  stock  upon  the  market  ran  through  the  Assembly. 
Hearts  sank  and  hopes  of  fortune  vanished.  The  news 
went  round  that  Yanderbilt  had  tied  up  his  purse  strings 
and  would  not  "  bleed  "  another  dollar.  The  wrath  of  the 
disappointed  members  was  unbounded.  The  bill  rejected 
three  weeks  before  by  a  vote  of  83  to  32,  was  now  rushed 
through  in  the  storm  of  rage  by  a  vote  of  101  to  6.  Sev- 
eral other  bills  designed  to  injure  the  Central  road  and 
spite  Vanderbilt  were  introduced  at  once  for  revenge.  The 
bill  went  to  the  Governor  and  became  a  law  by  the  signa- 
ture of  Ruben  E.  Fenton. 

This  bill  Judge  Barnard  aptly  described  as  "  a  bill  to 
legalize  counterfeit  money."  When  its  passage  was 
made  known  at  the  Stock  Exchange  by  telegraph,  it  was 
regarded  as  the  defeat  of  Vanderbilt  and  the  warning  of 
a  panic.  The  stocks  with  which  Yanderbilt  was  known 
to  be  heavily  loaded  fell  at  once  and  large  short  sales 
were  made  in  Central  and  Erie,  when  in  another  hour 
Central  bounded  from  112  to  120  and  Erie  from  66  to  71. 
Everybody  was  utterly  astounded  and  puzzled  at  a  move- 
ment so  utterly  at  variance  with  the  influence  of  the 
news.  But  it  soon  leaked  out  that  Vanderbilt  had  not 
withdrawn  his  opposition  at  Albany  without  knowing 


114  MTSTEEIOU8    MOVEMENTS. 

•what  he  was  about.  He  had  indeed  found  men  more 
than  a  match  for  him  in  boldness  at  corrupting  the  Leg- 
islature and  saw  it  could  only  be  a  battle  of  the  lion  and 
the  skunk.  He  could  succeed  only  by  spending  more 
money  to  corrupt  men  than  Erie  would  bo  worth  and  he 
was  now  fully  awake  to  the  fact  that  he  was  dealing  not 
with  Drew  but  with  nfuch  more  daring  spirits,  who  would 
hesitate  at  nothing  to  carry  their  point.  Still,  he  released 
his  hold  at  Albany  only  when  he  was  assured  that  the  ex- 
iles would  make  a  satisfactory  settlement  with  him  in  order 
to  get  back  to  their  homes.  Secret  visits  from  across  the 
river  had  made  him  certain  of  this,  and  suggestions  and 
proposals  for  a  settlement  had  been  such  that  it  was  for 
the  interest  of  both  parties  to  hold  up  the  stocks.  The 
first  rumors  of  this  nature  that  reached  the  brokers  were 
confirmed  by  the  appearance  of  Drew  and  some  of  the 
other  exiles  on  Wall  Street  the  next  day  unmolested  by 
Barnard's  sheriffs.  April  25th  arrangements  for  a  settle- 
ment had  proceeded  so  far  that  "  Fort  Taylor "  was 
abandoned  and  the  exiles  returned  to  their  homes  in 
peace.  The  terms  of  this  settlement  were  not  made 
known  for  some  time,  and  then  it  proved  to  be  quite  in 
keeping  with  the  arrangement  made  by  the  same  parties 
six  months  before  on  the  eve  of  election.  The  directors 
took  50,000  shares  of  Erie  stock  off  Vanderbilt's  shoul- 
ders at  70,  for  which  he  received  $2,500,000  in  cash, 
$1,250,000  in  Boston  Hartford  &  Erie  bonds  at  80. 
He  was  also  paid  $1,000,000  cash  for  the  "option "  given 


THB   8ETTLEMIWT.  115 

the  directors  of  calling  on  him  for  50,000  shares  more  of 
Erie  at  70  any  time  within  four  months.  And  he  was 
to  name  two  new  directors  to  be  taken  into  the  Erie 
board.  This  satisfied  him,  and  for  this  he  promised  to 
have  all  the  suits  discontinued  and  let  the  fugitives 
return.  The  suits  had  all  been  brought,  not  in  Vander- 
bilt's  name,  but  in  the  names  of  men  under  his  command, 
and  to  satisfy  these  men  and  the  expenses  of  litigation, 
$429,250  cash  was  necessary.  Mr.  Eldridge  received 
$4,000,000  of  Erie  acceptances  for  $5,000,000  of  Boston, 
Hartford  &  Erie  bonds  at  80  and  that  satisfied  him  and 
his  party.  Mr.  Drew  was  to  retain  all  the  money  he  had 
made  by  his  numerous  manipulations  of  Erie  for  the  last 
two  years,  but  was  to  pay  into  the  Erie  treasury  $540,000 
for  a  receipt  in  full  for  all  claims  the  corporation  might 
have  against  him  and  as  a  settlement  of  all  their  mutual 
accounts.  This  satisfied  him.  Fisk  and  Gould  had  not 
come  in  for  any  of  the  pecuniary  spoil  in  this  settlement 
and  they  opposed  it  strenuously  till  they  found  a  majority 
in  favor  of  it,  so  it  was  sure  to  pass  in  spite  of  them ;  and 
they  were  then  induced  to  give  their  assent  for  the 
consideration  that  Eldridge,  Drew  and  some  others 
should  resign  their  positions  as  directors  and  leave  Fisk 
and  Gould  ia  full  and  sole  possession  of  the  Erie  Rail- 
way. 

Six  months  after  this  settlement  a  suit  was  commenced 
against  Vanderbilt  by  Fisk  and  Gould  in  behalf  of  the 
Erie  Railway  to  recover  the  money  paid  Vanderbilt  at 


116  OK    TUB    WIT3JESS   8TA1TD. 

this  settlement  and  make  him  take  back  the  50,000 
shares  of  Erie  stock,  on  the  ground  that  the  transaction 
was  illegal.  The  testimony  given  by  Mr.  Fisk  when  on 
the  stand  as  a  witness  in  this  case,  is  so  unique  in  charac- 
ter and  affords  such  a  perfect  picture  of  the  man  that 
some  extracts  from  it  are  worth  preserving  and  may  form 
an  acceptable  close  of  this  chapter.  The  suit  was  brought 
and  conducted  by  Mr.  David  Dudley  Field  and  his  part- 
ners, his  son  and  Thomas  GK  Shearman.  The  trial  was 
held  by  Judge  George  GK  Barnard,  and  the  court  room 
was  crowded  with  distinguished  lawyers  and  men  who 
listened  with  the  greatest  interest.  When  Mr.  Fisk  was 
called  he  stepped  upon  the  stand  with  most  perfect  self- 
assurance,  evidently  enjoying  the  situation,  and  in  answer 
to  questions  testified : 

I  remember  an  interview  with  Commodore  Vanderbilt 
in  the  summer  of  1868.  I  don't  remember  just  when  the 
first  interview  was.  It  was  after  I  returned  from  Jersey. 
I  was  absent  in  Jersey  for  a  lapse  of  time  (laughter)  and 
on  my  return  I  made  the  Commodore  a  call  (laughter). 
He  said  several  of  the  directors  were  trying  to  make  a 
trade  with  him  and  he  would  like  to  know  who  was  the 
best  man  to  trade  with.  I  told  him  if  the  trade  was  a 
good  one  he  had  better  trade  with  me  (laughter).  He 
said  old  man  Drew  was  no  bettej  than  a  batter  pudding 
(great  laughter),  Eldridge  was  completely  demoralized 
and  there  was  no  head  or  tail  to  our  concern  (laughter). 
I  said  I  thought  so,  too  (great  laughter).  He  said  he 


OK   THE   WITNESS   STAND.  117 

had  got  his  bloodhounds  on  us  and  would  pursue  us  till 
we  took  his  stock  off  his  hands — he'd  be  d — d  if  he'd 
keep  it.  I  said  I'd  be  d — d  if  we'd  take  it  back  (sensa- 
tion), that  we  would  sell  him  stock  as  long  as  he'd  stand 
up  and  take  it  (great  laughter).  Upon  this  he  mellowed 
down  (laughter)  and  said  we  must  get  together  and 
arrange  this  matter.  He  said  when  we  were  in  Jersey 
Drew  used  to  slip  over  and  see  him  whenever  he  could 
get  out  from  under  our  eyes ;  that  he  had  had  a  good 
deal  of  talk  with  him  and  wanted  to  know  if  a  trade  made 
with  Drew  and  Eldridge  could  be  slipped  through  our 
board,  saying  that  if  it  could  we  should  all  be  landed 
in  the  haven  of  peace  and  harmony.  (Looking  very 
determined.)  I  told  him  I  would  not  submit  to  a  rob- 
bery of  the  road  under  any  circumstances  and  that  I 
was  dumbfounded  that  our  directors — whom  I  had  sup- 
posed respectable  men — (great  laughter)  would  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  such  proceedings. 

CoiDisel :  Is  that  all  that  was  said  ? 

Mr.  Fisk:  I  presume  not.  We  had  half  an  hour's 
conversation  and  I  think  I  could  say  more  than  that  in 
half  an  hour  (laughter). 

Counsel:  Can  you  give  anything  more  that  was  said  ? 

Mr.  Fisk:  I  don't  remember  what  more  was  said.  I 
remember  the  Commodore  put  on  his  other  shoe  (laugh- 
ter). I  remember  that  shoe  on  account  of  the  buckle 
(laughter).  You  see,  there  were  four  buckles  on  that  shoe. 
I  hadn't  ever  seen  any  of  that  kind  before,  and  I  romem- 


118  ON  THB  WITNESS  STAND. 

ber  it  passed  through  my  mind  that  if  such  men  wore 
that  kind  of  shoe  I  must  get  me  a  pair  (great  laughter). 
This  passed  through  my  mind  but  I  didn't  speak  of  it  to 
the  Commodore.  I  was  very  civil  to  him  (laughter). 

Counsel:  Where  was  Q-ould  all  this  time  ? 

Mr.  FisJc :  He  was  in  the  front  room — I  suppose.  I 
left  him  there  and  found  him  there,  but  I  don't  know 
where  he  may  have  been  in  the  meantime  (laughter). 
The  next  interview  was  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Pierrepoint. 
Gould  and  I  had  an  appointment  with  Eldridge  at  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  and  as  we  did  not  find  him  there  we 
went  out  to  see  if  we  could  find  him. 

Counsel :  Can  you  give  tho  date  of  that  meeting  ?— - 
A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Can  you  give  the  week  ? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Can  you  give  the  month? — A.  No,  sir. 

Q.  Can  you  give  the  year  ? — A.  No,  sir  !  Not  without 
reference. 

Q,  What  reference  do  you  want? — A.  Well,  I  shall 
have  to  refer  back  to  the  various  events  of  my  life  to  see 
just  where  that  day  comes  in,  and  the  almighty  robbery 
committed  by  this  man  Vanderbilt  against  the  Erie 
Railway  was  the  most  impressive  event  in  my  life 
(laughter).  The  meeting  at  Pierrepoint' s  was  a  week  or 
ten  days  after  the  first  interview  with  Vanderbilt.  Gould 
and  I  went  there  about  nine  o'clock.  We  stepped  into 
the  haH  together.  We  asked  if  Mr.  Pierrepoint  was  in. 
The  servant  said  he  would  see.  When  the  servant  went 


Off   THE    WITNESS    STAITD.  119 

into  the  drawing  room  I  was  very  careful  to  keep  on  a 
line  -with  the  door  BO  I  could  see  in  (laughter).  Presently 
Mr.  Pierrepoint  stepped  into  the  hall,  resembling  a  man 
•who  wasn't  in  much,  (laughter).  I  asked  him  if  our 
president  was  there.  After  some  thoughtfulness  on  his 
part,  he  said  he  thought  he  was  (laughter).  During  this 
time  I  had  moved  along  towards  the  drawing  room 
door,  Mr.  Pierrepoint  having  neglected  to  invite  us  in 
(laughter). 

Q.  Where  was  Gould? — A.  0,  he  was  just -behind  me; 
he's  always  right  behind  at  such  times  (laughter),  and 
while  he  entertained  Pierrepoint  I  opened  the  door  and 
stepped  in  (laughter),  and  found  most  of  our  directors 
there.  I  stepped  up  to  Mr.  Eldridge  and  told  him  we 
had  been  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  and  did  not  find  him. 
He  said  he  knew  he  was  not  there  (laughter).  I  asked 
what  was  going  on  and  everybody  seemed  to  wait  for 
some  one  else  to  answer  (laughter).  Being  better 
acquainted  with  Drew  than  any  of  the  rest  of  them, 
though  perhaps  having  less  confidence  in  him  (laughter), 
I  asked  him  what  under  heavens  was  up.  He  said  they 
were  arranging  the  suits.  I  told  him  they  ought  to  adopt 
a  very  different  manner  of  doing  it  than  being  there  in 
the  night — that  no  settlement  could  be  made  without 
requiring  the  money  of  the  corporation.  He  begun  to 
picture  his  miseries  to  me,  told  me  how  he  had  suffered 
during  his  pilgrimage,  saying  he  was  worn  and  thrown 
away  from  his  family  and  wanted  to  settle  matters  up ; 


120  OK  THE   WITNESS   STAKD. 

that  he  had  done  everything  he  could  and  saw  no  other 
way  out  either  for  himself  or  the  company.  I  told  him  I 
guessed  he  was  more  particular  about  himself  than  the 
company  and  he  said,  well,  he  was  (laughter) ;  that  he 
was  an  old  man  and  wanted  to  get  out  of  the  fight  and 
his  troubles ;  that  they  were  much  older  in  such  affairs 
than  we  were — I  was  very  glad  to  hear  him  say  that — 
(laughter)  and  that  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  great 
corporations  to  make  arrangements  of  this  sort.  I  told 
him  if  that  was  the  case  I  thought  our  State  Prison 
ought  to  be  enlarged  (laughter).  Then  Eldridge,  he  took 
hold  of  me.  He  talked  about  his  great  exertions,  what 
he  had  done  and  consummated,  that  there  were  only  two 
dissenting  voices  in  the  board — Gould  and  myself — and 
that  if  we  came  into  the  matter  to-morrow  the  company 
would  be  free  and  clear  of  litigation  and  everything 
would  be  all  right,  as  he  had  got  the  Commodore  and 
Work  and  Schell  to  settle  on  a  price.  I  told  him  I 
couldn't  see  it;  I  had  fought  that  position  for  seven 
months  night  and  day  and  -for  seven  weeks  in  Jersey  I 
had  hardly  taken  off  my  clothes,  fighting  to  keep  the 
money  of  the  company  from  being  robbed ;  and  I  could 
see  no  reason  why  we  should  not  fight  it  on  still.  He 
said  he  didn't  want  to  go  into  it,  but  had  tried  to  do  the 
best  he  could  with  Gould  and  myself  and  could  do 
nothing  and  now  an  arrangement  had  been  made  with 
Vanderbilt  and  it  was  all  right  and  must  go  through  that 
night  I  said  I  did  not  believe  it  was  legal;  these 


ON   THE  WITNESS   8TAWD.  121 

lawyers  were  all  on  one  side,  and  I  wanted  to  see  my 
lawyer.  He  said  that  was  no  good  (laughter).  Then 
Mr.  Pierrepoint  argued  with  me.  He  said  he  did  not 
think  there  was  any  one  present  who  was  not  going  to 
derive  benefit  from  it.  Rapallo  was  writing  at  a  table. 
Schell  was  buzzing  around  (laughter)  interested  in  get- 
ting his  share  of  the  plunder.  Work  was  sitting  on  a 
sofa.  I  had  nothing  to  say  to  him  (laughter)  as  we  were 
not  on  very  good  terms.  Gould  and  I  had  a  conversa- 
tion together  and  not  till  twelve  o'clock  at  night  did  we 
give  our  consent.  I  told  him  I  did  not  believe  the 
proceedings  were  legal,  that  we  had  no  lawyers,  that  the 
lawyers  there  were  sold  «to  Eldridge — hook,  line  and 
sinker  (laughter).  Gould  said  Eldridge  had  paid  Evarts 
$10,000  for  an  opinion  that  it  was  all  right  and  Eaton 
had  been  paid  $15,000  for  an  opinion  and  said  it  was 
legal.  I  told  him  I  thought  it  a  queer  way  of  classify- 
ing opinions  (laughter).  Gould  consented  first.  He  said 
he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  do  so  as  the  best  way  to  get 
out  of  the  matter.  I  told  him  I  would  consent  if  he  did. 
Drew  came  ^to  me  with  tears  in  his  eyes  and  asked  me  to 
consent  and  I  consented.  Then  there  was  some  paper 
drawn  up  and  passed  around  for  us  to  sign.  I  don't 
know  what  it  contained.  I  didn't  read  it.  I  don't  think 
I  noticed  a  word  of  it.  I  don't  know  the  contents  and 
have  always  been  glad  I  didn't  (laughter).  I  have 
thought  of  it  a  thousand  times.  I  don't  know  what  other 
documents  I  signed — signed  everything  that  was  put 


122  ON  THE  WITNESS   STAND. 

before  me  (laughter).  After  the  devil  once  got  hold  of 
me  I  kept  on  signing  (laughter).  Didn't  read  any  of 
them  and  have  no  idea  what  they  were.  Don't  know 
how  many  I  signed — kept  no  account  after  the  first.  I 
went  with  the  robbers  then  and  have  been  with  them  ever 
since  (laughter).  After  signing  all  the  papers  I  took  my 
hat  and  left  at  once  in  disgust  (laughter).  I  don't  know 
whether  we  sat  down  or  not.  I  know  we  didn't  have 
anything  to  eat  (laughter). 

Counsel:  Didn't  you  have  a  glass  of  wine  or  something 
of  that  sort  ? 

Mr.  Fisk :  I  don't  remember. 

Counsel:  Wouldn't  that  hUve  made  an  impression  upon 
you  ?  (Laughter.) 

Mr.  Fisk:  No,  sir!  I  never  drink  (laughter).  I 
think  I  left  at  once  as  soon  as  I  had  done  signing.  As 
we  went  out  I  said  to  Gould  we  had  sold  our  souls  to  the 
devil  (laughter).  He  agreed  to  that  and  said  he  thought 
so,  too  (laughter).  I  remember  Mr.  White,  the  cashier, 
coming  ia  with  the  check  book  under  his  arm  and  as  he 
came  in  I  said  to  him  that  he  was  bearing  in  the  balance 
of  the  remains  of  our  corporation  to  put  into  Vanderbilt's 
tomb  (laughter). 

The  next  interview  with  Vanderbilt  was  several  days 
after. 

Counsel:  Was  Gould  with  you  ? 

Mr.  Fisk:  Yes,  Sir!  We  never  parted  during  that 
war  (laughter).  We  went  to  his  office  one  morning  and 


OR   THB   WITNESS   8TAJTD.  128 

found  his  man  Friday  in  the  front  room  (laughter). 
Don't  know  his  name.  It  was  the  same  man  I  had  seen  a 
hundred  times  before  when  I  had  been  there  with  Drew. 
"We  found  the  Commodore  in  the  back  room.  I  asked 
him  how  he  was  getting  on.  He  said  "  First  rate " 
(laughter) ;  that  he  had  got  the  thing  all  arranged  and  the 
only  question  now  was  whether  it  could  be  slipped 
through  our  board.  I  told  him  that  after  what  I  had 
seen  the  other  night  I  thought  anything  could  be  slipped 
through  (laughter).  He  said  we  would  have  to  manage 
it  carefully.  I  told  him  I  didn't  think  so — that  they 
would  be  careful  to  go  it  blind  (laughter).  He  said  the 
trade  had  been  consummated  at  Pierrepoint's  house.  I 
said  I  had  no  doub^,  of  it.  He  said  it  ought  not  to  have 
been  carried  out ;  that  Schell  had  got  the  lion's  share  and 
some  of  the  lawyers  on  the  other  side  might  have  to  go 
hungry  (laughter).  He  asked  if  we  were  conversant 
with  the  rest  of  the  trade.  I  said  I  had  no  doubt  the 
whole  thing  had  been  cooked  up  in  such  a  manner  that  it 
could  be  put  through.  He  spoke  about  putting  Banker 
and  Stewart  into  our  board  and  said  it  would  help  both 
him  and  us  c'arry  our  stock,  as  people  would  say  we  had 
amalgamated,  and  Vanderbilt's  men  coming  into  the  Erie 
board^ould  strengthen  the  market.  That  was  admitted, 
but  it  worked  rather  different  from  what  we  expected 
(laughter).  I  next  saw  him  a  day  or  two  before  the 
prosecution  was  closed  up.  Gould  thought  the  Commo- 
dore's losses  had  not  been  so  large  as  represented  and 


124  ON  THE   WITNESS   STAND. 

asked  to  see  his  broker's  account.  The  Commodore  said 
he  never  showed  anything  and  we  must  take  his  word.  He 
reiterated  his  losses  and  said  they  were  so  large  because 
when  they  had  got  him  to  give  his  order  to  sustain  the 
market  the  skunks  had  run  and  sold  out  on  him  (laugh- 
ter). As  we  were  coming  away  he  said,  "Boys,  you 
are  young,  and  if  you  carry  out  this  settlement  there 
will  be  peace  and  harmony  between  the  roads." 

Previous  to  commencing  this  suit  I  made  a  tender  of 
50,000  shares  of  Erie  stock  to  Vanderbilt.  I  went  up  to 
his  house  in  company  with  T.  G.  Shearman.  I  received 
the  certificates  of  shares  from  Gould  and  put  them  in  a 
black  satchel  (laughter).  It  was  a  bad,  stormy  day,  so 
we  got  into  a  carriage  and  I  held  the  satchel  tight  be- 
tween my  legs  (laughter)  knowing  they  were  valuable 
(laughter).  I  told  Shearman  not  much  reliance  could  be 
placed  on  him  if  we  were  attacked,  he  was  such  a  little 
fellow  (laughter,  in  which  Mr.  Shearman  joined).  We 
concurred  in  the  opinion  that  it  was  dangerous  property 
to  travel  with — (laughter) — might  blow  up  (laughter). 
We  rang  the  bell  and  went  in.  The  gentleman  came  down 
and  I  said  "  Good  morning,  Commodore.  I  have  come 
to  tender  you  fifty  thousand  shares  of  Erie  stock  and 
demand  back  the  securities  and  money."  He  sa?d  he 
had  had  no  transactions  with  the  Erie  Bailway  Co. 
(laughter)  and  would  have  to  consult  his  counsel.  I  told 
him  I  also  demanded  a  million  of  dollars  paid  him  for 
losaes  he  purported  to  have  sustained.  He  said  he  had 


ON   THE    WITNESS    STAND.  125 

nothing  to  do  with  it  (laughter)  and  I  bade  him  good 
morning  (laughter). 

I  became  director  in  the  Erie  Kailway  on  the  13th  of 
October,  1867. 

Counsel:  You  remember  that  date  ? 

Mr.  Fisk :  I  do,  well !  It  forms  an  episode  in  my 
life. 

Counsel :  What  fixes  it  in  your  mind  BO  well  ? 

Mr.  Fisk:  I  had  no  gray  hairs  then. 

Counsel :  You  have  gray  hairs  now  ? 

Mr.  Fisk:  Plenty  of  them.  And  I  saw  more  robbery 
during  the  next  year  than  I  had  ever  dreamed  of  as 
possible. 

Counsel :  You  saw  it,  did  you  ? 

Mr.  Fisk :  I  didn't  see  it,  but  I  knew  it  was  going  on. 
I  am  now  a  director  of  the  Erie  Eailway  and  its  comp- 
troller. My  duty  as  comptroller  is  to  audit  all  the  bills ; 
as  director,  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  corporation — 
honestly  (laughter). 

I  would  like  to  make  an  apology  to  the  Court.  This  is 
the  first  time  I've  been  on  the  stand  and  I  may  overstep 
some  of  the  rules  (laughter).  If  I  do,  it  is  wholly  in  ig- 
norance. It  is  new  business  to  me  and  if  I  don't  keep 
withia  the  rules  I  ask  my  counsel  to  guide  me,  for  I  don't 
know  when  I  may  be  imposed  on  (laughter). 

Counsel :  Your  lawyer  will  look  out  for  you. 

Mr.  Fisk:  Oh,  I'll  look  out  for  myself  (laughter). 
Don't  give  yourself  any  trouble  about  that 


Off   THE  WITNESS   STAND. 

Counsel:  You  seem  to  be  a  very  frank  and  outspoken 
witness  (laughter).  AI-I 

Mr.  Fisk:  Well,  I'm.  not  much,  accustomed  to  you 
fellows  (laughter).  I  was  never  on  the  stand  but  once 
before. 

Counsel:  When  was  that? 

Mr.  Fisk  :  That  was  when  I  was  a  boy,  up  in  the  coun 
try — in  a  QOW  case  (great  laughter). 

-;  -A      ,j- -ori  h.,iU  •, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

••.       ~--f.:.'.-: '::    ,-f-j   : 

IN   FULL  POSSESSION — DISPOSING   OP   AN   ELEPHANT MILLIcmS 

MORE   OP   NEW    STOCK A    "  LOCK    f  P  " DREW'S     LAST    BAT- 
TLE  RUMORED     FLIGHT     FRO  it     THE     COUNTBT THE     ERIE 

CLASSIFICATION    BILL ERIE    STRICKEN     FliOil     THE    LIST    OP 

THE    STOCK  EXCHANGE. 

Though  the  settlement  of  all  the  difficulties  of  the 
Yanderbilt-Erie  war  and  the  conclusion  of  peace  was 
arrived  at  the  last  of  April  or  early  in  May,  it  was  not 
officially  announced  to  the  board  of  Erie  directors  till 
July  30th.  On  that  day  the  president  made  the  terms 
known  to  the  board  and  after  their  adoption  Mr.  Eldridge 
resigned  and  retired  to  Massachusetts  to  devote  his 
energies  to  the  Boston,  Hartford  &  Erie,  which,  after 
causing  about  as  much  scandal  in  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  as  Erie  had  done  at  Albany  and  swallowing 
several  millions  of  the  State  funds,  became  bankrupt. 
Mr.  Drew  also  retired  from  the  board  with  several  others, 
leaving  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  in  undisputed  sway. 
To  most  men  the  Erie  Railway  at  the  time  these  gentle- 
men came  into  full  possessisn  would  have  seemed  no  very 


128  DISPOSING   OF   AN   ELEPHANT. 

goodly  heritage.  It  had  the  appearance  of  a  thoroughly 
sucked  orange.  But  the  new  masters  still  saw  signs  of 
juice  and  felt  it  no  mean  windfall  notwithstanding  that  its 
treasury  had  just  been  depleted  of  $9,000,000,  that  its 
affairs  were  in  a  very  unfavorable  condition  and  that  the 
worst  odor  attached  to  its  name.  They  addressed  them- 
selves earnestly  to  the  difficult  task  of  bringing  order  out 
chaos,  infusing  new  life  into  the  road  and  rescuing  it 
from  threatened  bankruptcy.  They  took  Wm.  M.  Tweed 
and  Peter  B.  Sweeney*  into  their  board  to  fill  the  vacan- 
cies and  irith  this  accession  of  the  masters  of  New  York 
City  and  the  State  Legislature,  Tammany  Hall  and  the 
Erie  ring  were  fused  in  interests  and  have  since  continued 
to  serve  each  other  faithfully.  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould 
concentrated  all  the  power  in  their  own  hands,  Gould 
becoming  president  and  treasurer  and  Fisk  comptroller, 
and  they  with  Tweed  and  Lane  constituting  the  executive 
committee.  The  new  power  had  what  is  often  a  great 
element  of  strength  and  gives  great  advantages — they  had 
nothing  to  lose,  and  could  act  with  the  boldness  which 
that  circumstance  warrants. 

The  50,000  shares  of  stock  taken  back  from  Vanderbilt 
was  an  elephant  upon  their  hands.  The  disposition  of 
this  was  the  first  thing  to  be  attended  to,  and  here  they 
were  eminently  ingenious  and  successful.  It  was  a 
season  of  the  year  when  money  was  plenty  and  stocks 
naturally  buoyant.  Besides,  for  some  inexplicable  cause, 
English  financiers  commenced  investing  in  Erie  stock 


COMMODORE  VANUERBILT. 


DISK)SING   OP   AN   ELEPHANT.  129 

/ 

quite  extensively  about  this  time.  The  new  board  had 
purposely  been  made  up  in  a  way  to  create  the  impres- 
sion that  Yanderbilt  had  great  influence  in  it,  that  his 
reputation  might  sustain  the  price  of  the  stock.  He  still 
held  several  millions  worth  of  it  and  therefore  did  not 
wish  it  to  fall  just  yet.  In  addition  to  all  these  in- 
fluences tending  to  keep  the  price  up,  the  new  masters 
resorted  to  a  very  shrewd  piece  of  finessing  for  the  same 
purpose.  When  operators  are  caught  heavily  short  and 
feel  confident  the  market  will  fall  soon,  instead  of  buying 
stock  to  meet  contracts,  they  often  borrow  it  of  those  who 
hold  it,  till  they  can  buy  at  a  lower  price.  The  new 
direction  now  bethought  themselves  of  making  this  cus- 
tom serve  them  a  good  turn.  They  sold  moderate  quan- 
tities of  Erie  stock  daily,  but,  instead  of  delivering  the 
stock  they  had  in  their  possession,  they  borrowed  of  any 
who  held  it  and  completed  their  sales  by  delivering  this 
borrowed  stock.  This  naturally  gave  the  impression  that 
there  was  a  large  short  interest  existing  in  the  stock, 
hence  many  became  bulls  in  the  hope  of  pinching  the 
supposed  shorts  and  this  tended  to  send  up  the  price.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which  the  stock  had  been 
borrowed,  it  was  of  course  repaid  out  of  shares  that  had 
been  in  the  Erie  treasury  all  the  time.  By  this  means 
and  under  these  various  influences,  all  the  50,000  shares 
were  soon  disposed  of  at  about  70  without  loss,  and  thus 
the  feeble  condition  of  the  treasury  soon  felt  the  healthy 
stimulus  of  some  $3,000,000.  And  finding  that  Erie  went 


130  VANDEBBILT    WASHES   HIS   HANDS   OF   EBJB. 

so  well,  Fisk  and  Gould  saw  no  good  reason  why  all  who 
thirsted  for  it  should  not  have  their  desire  gratified,  and 
therefore,  profiting  by  their  early  instruction,  they  set  the 
little  mill  going  again  and  turned  out  stock  in  quantities 
to  suit  purchasers  as  long  as  they  would  take  it.  More- 
over, it  was  a  season  of  the  year  when  the  road  did  a 
heavy  business  and  brought  in  a  great  deal  of  ready 
money.  From  all  these  sources  the  treasury  was  soon  in 
a  quite  flourishing  condition  and  the  part  that  had  fallen 
to  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  in  the  settlement  proved  to  be 
something  not  so  much  like  a  sucked  orange  as  at  first 
appeared. 

But  Vanderbilt  had  not  neglected  an  opportunity  he  saw 
when  Erie  was  going  readily  at  70.  By  the  settlement, 
he  was  under  contract  to  deliver  the  directors  50,000 
shares  at  70  any  time  before  the  end  of  August,  and 
they  hoped  he  would  not  dare  sell  the  stock  he  held  for 
fear  they  would  then  run  the  price  up  and  corner  him. 
They  also  suspected  he  would  make  another  attempt 
to  control  the  election  in  October  and  would  there- 
fore continue  to'  hold  large  quantities  of  stock  for  that 
purpose.  Should  he  pursue  this  course  they  knew  the 
market  would  remain  buoyant  till  they  got  it  so  flooded 
with  new  stock  that  it  would  tumble  at  great  strides 
all  at  .once  and  Yanderbilt  would  again  bleed  freely  for 
their  benefit  But  the  Commodore  was  too  wary  to  be 
caught  in  such  a  trap.  He  knew  the  men  he  had  to  deal 
with  now.  He  soon,  became  aware  that  they  were  put- 


TBANSFEU   BOOKS.  131 

ting  upon  the  market  all  the  stock  they  had  taken  back 
from  him  and  knew  they  would  manufacture  a  new 
supply  for  themselves  if  the  price  kept  up.  He  knew 
they  could  not  manipulate  a  corner  on  him  with  such  a 
vast  volume  of  the  stock  afloat,  and  he  felt  under  no 
special  obligation  to  sustain  the  market  at  70  while  his 
young  friends  amused  themselves  grinding  out  large 
quanfities  of  new  stock.  He  |herefore  availed  himself  of 
the  demand  for  Erie  at  70  to  dispose  quietly  of  the  large 
amount  of  that  valuable  property  still  held  by  him  and 
rid  himself  of  all  connection  with  it  and  the  unscrupulous 
men  now  in  control.  The  influence  of  these  combined 
heavy  sales  soon  began  to  be  felt.  Early  in  August  Erie 
suddenly  commenced  to  fall  rapidly,  and  on  the  19th 
went  at  49.  On  that  day  the  -stockholders  and  public 
were  taken  by  surprise  by  the  announcement  that  the 
transfer  books  were  closed  to  get  ready  for  the  election, 
which  was  not  to  occur  till  the  13th  of  October. 

When  stock  is  issued,  the  names  of  the  parties  to  whom 
it  is  issued  and  their  respective  amounts,  are  entered  in 
the  stock  register  of  the  company.  The  entries  thus  made 
on  their  books  are  the  sole  evidence  to  the  company  as  to 
who  are  owners  of  the  stock,  and  from  these  entries  is 
made  up  the  list  of  those  entitled  to  vote  at  elections.  If 
any  subsequent  purchaser  of  the  stock  wishes  to  vote  he 
must  go  to  the  office  of  the  company  and  have  the  shares 
held  by  him  transferred  from  the  name  of  the  man  to 
whom  they  were  issued,  or  to  whose  credit  they  now  stand, 


132  ABOVE   THE  LAW. 

to  his  own,  else  his  name  will  not  appear  on  the  voting 
list  made  up  from  the  books  and  some  other  man  will  have 
the  right  of  voting  on  his  stock.  It  is  customary  to  close 
these  transfer  books — i.  e.,  suspend  the  privilege  of  having 
stock  transferred  from  one  name  to  another — after  notice, 
a  few  days  before  an  election,  to  give  time  to  make  out 
the  voting  list  from  them.  Fisk  and  Gould  had  now  sus- 
pended this  right  nearly  two  months  before  the  elsction. 
The  object  was  obvious.  The  50,000  shares  taken  from 
Yanderbilt  and  all  the  new  stock  they  had  since  issued 
now  stood  on  the  books  in  their  own  names  or  those  of 
men  in  league  with  them,  and  by  thus  preventing  their 
transfer  they  would  be  able  to  vote  at  the  election  upon 
vast  amounts  of  stock  owned  by  other  people  and  so 
easily  compass  their  own  reelection.  Of  course  the  pro- 
ceeding was  daringly  illegal,  and  in  any  community  where 
law  has  any  force  and  a  judge  dare  not  openly  be  a 
scoundrel,  they  might  have  been  compelled  to  make  trans- 
fers till  a  reasonable  time  before  election ;  but  with  recent 
experience  as  to  the  lengths  these" men  were  ready  to  go, 
and  with  Judge  Barnard,  who  had  driven  them  out  of  the 
State  and  made  a  great  show  of  virtue  by  denouncing 
them  in  unsparing  terms  in  March,  now  in  closest  friend- 
ship with  them,  no  one  cared  to  make  the  useless  attempt. 
It  had  now  got  to  the  pass  that  these  men  openly  defied 
the  law,  and  it  could  not  be  enforced  against  them.  How 
futile  any  such  attempt  would  have  been  was  proven  two 
years  later  when,  under  similar  circumstances,  some  Eng- 


COUNSEL  TEEA.TED   WITH  EIDICULB,  138 

lish  owners  of  60,000  shares  of  the  stock  attempted  to 
have  it  transferred  to  their  names  so  they  might  vote  on 
it  at  the  approaching  election.  A  motion  for  this  pur- 
pose having  been  made,  of  course  it  was  managed  to  have 
it  come  up  before  Judge  Barnard  and  he  coolly  put  it 
down  for  hearing  at  a,  day  subsequent  to  the  election! 
Application  was  then  made  to  Judge  Cardozo  to  remedy  the 
outrage,  but  in  vain.  The  counsel  of  the  English  stock- 
holders was  the  Hon.  Wm.  M.  Evarts,  and  all  who  are 
not  familiar  with  the  New  York  Courts  would  naturally  - 
think  that  a  judge  would  be  very  slow  to  treat  such  a  dis- 
tinguished lawyer  with  wanton  indignity,  and  that  if  such 
an  outrage  were  perpetrated  upon  his  clients  a  man  of  his 
great  name,  abilities  and  influence  would  raise  a  storm  of 
public  and  professional  indignation  that  would  sweep  th» 
infamous  men  from  the  bench;  but  he  was  made  the  mere 
sport  of  the  miserable  ring-politician  judges,  driven  back 
and  forth  like  a  shuttle-cock  between  Jew  and  Gentile, 
the  rights  of  his  clients  were  stolen  from  them,  and  all 
had  to  be  submitted  to,  awakening  no  murmurs  of  sur- 
prise or  resentment.  This  trick  enabled  Messrs.  Fisk  and 
Gould  to  vote  upon  vast  quantities  of  stock  owned  by 
other  men,  and  by  the  purchase  of  a  sufficient  number  of 
proxies  to  give  them  control  of  a  majority  of  votes  on 
election  day,  they  easily  reelected  themselves,  though 
they  owned  little  or  none  of  the  stock — the  stock  of  the 
men  most  anxious  to  turn  them  out  having  thus  been  made 
to  secure  their  continuance  in  power. 


134  JL   LOCK   UP. 

Their  reelection  having  thus  been  made  sure  two 
months  beforehand,  they  of  course  cared  nothing  more 
about  the  stock.  However  low  it  fell  they  would  lose 
nothing  as  they  owned  none  of  it,  so  they  not  only  con- 
tinued to  issue  new  stock  and  load  it  upon  the  market,, 
but  alscv  deliberately  entered  upon  a  bear  campaign  to- 
depress  the  price  not  only  of  Erie  but  of  the  whole  list  of 
stocks.  The  means  adopted  to  accomplish  this  purpose- 
was  what  is  called  a  "lock  up  "  of  currency. 

In  the  early  autumn  a  large  amount  of  currency  is 
drawn  from  New  York  to  the  west  and  south  to  move  the- 
crops  of  the  year.  This  makes  money  very  scarce  at  the- 
financial  centre  and  in  such  demand  that  high  rates  of 
interest  prevail  and  the  whole  stock  market  is  depressed. 
The  monetary  stringency  thus  naturally  produced  was 
further  increased  this  season  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Mc- 
Culloch,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  at  that  time,  favored 
the  policy  of  contracting  the  volume  of  currency  as  a 
means  of  getting  baek  to  specie  payment.  A  combination 
was  formed  by  the  Erie  ring  to  take  advantage  of  thi* 
state  of  circumstances.  They  had  control  of  some  four- 
teen millions  of  money,  Daniel  Drew  engaging  to  supply 
four  millions  to  the  pool.  The  first  step  was  to  sell 
heavily  short  of  all  the  leading  stocks ;  then  they  sud- 
denly withdrew  from  circulation  all  the  money  controlled 
by  them,  producing  a  critical  stringency  in  money  and  a 
great  fall  in  stocks,  when  they  covered  their  short 
contracts  at  immense  profits  and  the  plot  was  an  entire 


DREW    DESERTS.  135 

success.  As  soon  as  this  scheme  was  well  under  way  and 
stocks  had  fallen  considerably  and  money  readily  com- 
manded extortionate  rates  ^f  interest,  the  timorous  Drew 
became  alarmed  at  the  dizzy  heights  to  which  the  young 
eagles  were  bent  on  soaring  with  him  and  looked 
anxiously  about  for  a  safe  escape.  Stocks  had  already 
fallen  so  that  a  handsome  harvest  could  be  gathered,  and 
he  was  fain  to  be  satisfied  with  this  while  his  confederates 
had  their  hearts  fixed  on  something  much  more  grand- 
Among  those  who  had  already  been  forced  into  a  very 
critical  situation  by  the  fall  in  stocks  and  the  scarcity  of 
money  was  Henry  Keep,  a  former  associate  of  Drew. 
He  was  now  in  the  most  pressing  need  of  two  millions  of 
dollars  to  sustain  himself  and  was  willing  to  grant  the 
most  profitable  terms  to  secure  it,  as  he  would  fail  and  be 
ruined  unless  it  was  forthcoming.  Faithful  to  his  nature 
to  do  the  best  he  can  for  himself  always,  regardless  of 
associates,  friends,  and  promises,  Drew  seized  this  fine 
opportunity  of  covering  a  safe  retreat,  loaned  Keep  the 
two  millions,  and  withdrew  his  funds  from  the  lock  up. 
Fisk  and  Gould,  however,  continued  to  turn  the  screws 
and  wring  their  victims  without  mercy,  regarding  the 
writhing  and  agony  as  rare  sport  and  amusement. 

The  practices  of  the  New  York  banks  are  such  that  a 
clique  in  command  of  such  a  large  sum  of  money  can 
often  place  Wall  Street  entirely  at  their  mercy.  The  two 
customs  of  certifying  checks  and  loaning  money  on  spec- 
ulative stocks  are  vulnerable  points  that  may  put  the 


136  CERTIFIED    CHECKS. 

banks  and  all  monetary  interests  in  the  power  of  such  a 
band  of  conspirators.  A  check  is  "  certified "  by  the 
cashier  of  the  bank  on  which  jrt  is  drawn  writing  "  Good  " 
across  it  and  signing  his  name.  Properly  this  means  that 
the  maker  of  the  cheek  has  funds  on  deposit  to  meet  itr 
and  the  certification  is  the  same  as  the  endorsement  of  a 
note,  making  the  bank  responsible,  it  being  the  cashier's 
duty  to  refuse  to  cash  uncertified  checks  when  the  maker 
has  in  the  bank  only  money  enough  to  meet  the  checks 
that  have  been  certified.  In  fact,  however,  many  of  the 
New  York  banks  often  certify  checks  of  depositors  in 
good  credit  for  much  larger  sums  than  the  maker  has  on 
deposit  with  them  ;  in  other  words,  the  bank  endorses  the 
notes  of  its  depositors.  As  certified  checks  pass  as  readily 
as  money,  a  man  may  command  twice  as  much  capital  as 
he  is  really  worth.  Banks  also  loan  money  and  take 
stocks  for  collateral  security.  It  is  in  times  of  greatest 
stringency  of  course  that  depositors  are  most  apt  to  have 
checks  certified  for  much  larger  sums  than  they  have  on 
deposit  and  that  money  is  borrowed  by  speculators  on 
stock  held  by  them.  The  banks  thus  become  indirectly 
parties  to  the  speculations  and  when  a  crisis  comes  they 
suddenly  find  themselves  responsible  for  certified  checks 
in  much  larger  sums  than  the  makers  of  the  checks  have 
on  deposit,  and  they  are  themselves  pressed  for  funds  to 
meet  the  certified  checks,  yet  dare  not  call  in  the  demand 
loans  they  have  made  on  stocks,  for  if  they  should  the 
stocks  would  have  to  be  sold  in  a. depressed  ox  falling 


APPEALS   TO   WASHIlfGTOW.  137 

market,  thus  increasing  the  depression  and  causing  a 
financial  crash.  In.  this  way  the  banks  themselves  aw 
often  drawn  into  a  most  critical  position. 

None  of  these  opportunities  for  helping  on  their  pur- 
pose were  neglected  by  Fisk  and  Gould  during  their  lock 
up.  They  continued  to  issue  new  stock  and  locked  up  all 
the  money  it  brought.  Between  the  time  of  their  coming 
into  absolute  power  in  July  and  the  24th  of  October, 
235,000  shares  of  new  stock  were  secretly  issued  and  put 
upon  the  market,  increasing  the  capital  stock  from 
$34,265,300  to  $57,766,300,  or  an  increase  of  $23,501,000 
in  about  three  months.  The  first  week  in  November  was 
a  most  trying  and  critical  one.  Money  commanded 
extraordinary  rates  of  daily  interest,  all  stocks  were 
falling,  several  of  the  banks  were  greatly  embarrassed, 
many  firms  were  failing  and  a  disastrous  crash  seemed 
imminent.  Urgent  appeals  went  from  Wall  Street  to 
Washington  for  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  relieve 
the  situation  by  re-issuing  some  of  the  currency  that  had 
been  withdrawn  from  circulation  under  his  policy  of 
contraction,  but  he  regarded  it  as  a  mere  contest  between 
speculators,  in  no  wise  affecting  the  business  interests  of 
the  country  and  so  refused  to  interfere  or  swerve  from  his 
course  of  contraction.  Calumny  even  represented  him  aa 
interested  with  the  "lock  up"  clique,  and  of  course  the 
leading  spirits  eagerly  encouraged  this  impression.  Fisk 
and  Gould  now  feeling  Wall  Street  securely  in  their 
clutches  gave  the  screws  another  remorseless  turn. 


138  THE   LOCK   UP   BROKE*. 

Another  fall  in  stocks  followed,  Erie  going  to  35,  a  fall  of 
just  50  per  cent,  since  the  new  management  obtained 
control,  and  N.  Y.  Central  fell  to  114,  or  23  per  cent, 
since  the  commencement  of  the  "  lock  up,"  a  fall  that  told 
the  making  and  losing  of  many  a  large  fortune.  Other 
stocks  fell  in  like  manner ;  more  firms  failed,  the  condi- 
tion of  the  banks  became  more  critical  and  renewed 
appeals  were  made  to  Secretary  McCnlloch  and  he  was 
assured  that  unless  relief  was  afforded  there  must  result  a 
financial  crash  that  would  involve  not  only  New  York 
but  the  business  interests  of  the  whole  country.  At 
length,  finding  the  situation  so  serious,  on  Saturday 
morning,  Nov.  7th,  he  telegraphed  to  New  York  that 
he  would  re-issue  $50,000,000  of  currency  to  relieve  the 
situation  if  necessary.  This  gave  assurance  that  the 
power  of  the  clique  was  broken  and  so  relieved  appre- 
hension, but  as  the  currency  was  not  issued  the  stock 
market  did  not  react  but  dragged  on  through  another 
•week  of  depression.  The  combination  taking  the  news 
from  Washington  as  their  warning,  improved  this  week 
to  cover  all  their  shorts  and  prepare  a  new  scheme.  Of 
course  stocks  would  react  suddenly  when  the  stringency 
was  removed,  so,  after  covering  their  shorts,  they  bought 
heavily  and  went  long  in  all  the  leading  stocks,  prepav 
ratory  to  reaping  another  harvest  from  the  coming  rise. 
And  now  was  discovered  an  opportunity  for  gratifying  a 
little  revenge. 

When  Drew  deserted  the  "  lock  up,"  knowing  that  the 


BBVENGE    ON    DREW.  139 

design  of  the  managers  was  to  depress  the  price  of  Erie 
and  being  aware  of  the  large  secret  issue  of  new  stock,  he 
sold  heavily  short  of  Erie  and  waited  for  the  fall.  Fisk 
and  Gould  found  out  that  he  was  short  and  resolved  to 
make  use  of  that  circumstance  not  only  to  transfer  large 
sumg  of  money  from  his  pockets  to  their  own  but  also 
to  wreak  vengeance  upon  him  for  turning  traitor  to  them 
in  the  "lock  up"  plot.  Accordingly,  while  they  made  use 
of  the  week  following  the  news  from  Washington  to  cover 
their  own  shorts  most  advantageously,  they  managed  to 
keep  Erie  declining  slightly  so  that  Drew  failed  to  cover 
his  shorts.  On  Saturday,  the  14th,  all  their  plans  being 
ripe,  Erie  sold  for  35  during  the  regular  business  hour, 
but  in  the  afternoon  the  managers  of  the  "lock  up" 
unlock  their  twelve  millions  of  currency,  and  put  it  in 
circulation  suddenly,  making  money  very  plenty  and  easy 
and  under  their  new  combination  for  a  rise  Erie  quickly 
shot  from  35  to  47 — a  rise  of  12  per  cent,  in  an  hour  or 
two.  Drew  was  immediately  filled  with  alarm  and 
realized  that  he  was  caught  in  a  trap.  Great  excitement 
prevailed  late  in  the  afternoon  and  through  the  evening, 
for  it  was  now  evident  that  new  developments  of  an 
important  character  were  at  hand.  The  course  of  things 
for  the  last  three  months  and  the  fall  of  50  per  cent,  in 
Erie  had  dispelled  the  delusion  which  had  led  to  such 
large  foreign  investments  in  that  stock  in  July  and 
August,  and  it  was  now  discovered  that  New  York  agents 
of  the  foreign  purchasers  had  been  selling  the  stock  and 


140  A  "BULL 


it  was  expected  that  large  amounts  of  it  would  arrive 
from  England  -by  the  steamer  due  on  Monday,  the  23d. 
Those  who  had  thus  sold  for  their  foreign  customers 
when  the  stock  was  depressed  now  naturally  desired  with 
Drew  that  the  price  should  not  be  suddenly  run  tip  again 
for  speculative  purposes.  A  consultation  was  held  by  the 
agents  of  the  foreign  stockholders  and  their  sympathizers, 
and  it  was  decided  to  resort  to  the  Courts  once  more  for 
protection.  Accordingly  Saturday  night  was  employed 
by  Drew  in  making  the  necessary  affidavits,  stating  the 
course  of  the  Erie  managers  in  issuing  new  stock,  for  spec- 
ulative purposes  in  violation  of  statutes,  etc.  These  affi- 
davits were  to  be  used  on  Monday  to  procure  the 
removal  of  Fisk  and  Gould  from  control  of  the  Erie 
Railway  and  the  appointment  of  a  receiver  to  take 
charge  of  its  affairs.  Mr.  August  Belmont  being  the 
most  prominent  agent  of  the  foreign  stockholders  and  a 
gentleman  of  high  standing  and  great  influence,  the  suit 
was  to  be  brought  in  his  name.  But  Drew,  true  to  his 
nature  of  pursuing  no  course  vigorously  more  than  a  few 
hours  at  the  most  in  a  critical  situation,  and  naturally 
having  no  very  strong  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  the 
Courts  to  relieve  him  in  his  present  exigency,  had  no 
sooner  sworn  to  the  affidavits  than  he  was  ready  to  betray 
either  party  or  both  provided  he  could  only  get  himself 
out  of  the  difficulty.  Accordingly  after  spending  Satur- 
day night  in  conference  with  those  united  with  him  to 
oppose  Fisk  and  Gould,  and  in  making  affidavits  to  be 


JAITOS-FACED    DANIEL.  141 

used  by  Mr.  Belmont  in  legal  proceedings  against  those 
gentlemen  on  Monday  morning,  he  made  it  his  first 
business  on  Sunday  to  call  on  Fisk  and  endeavor  to 
secure  pardon  and  relief  for  himself  by  disclosing  the 
situation  and  betraying  the  designs  of  his  friends  in 
council  the  previous  night.  He  made  a  perfect  confidant 
of  his  whilom  protege  and  pupil,  revealing  to  him  without 
reserve  all  the  details  and  dangers  of  the  position  in 
which  his  victims  were  placed  by  the  sudden  rise,  telling 
him  of  the  legal  proceedings  that  would  be  instituted 
against  him  on  the  morrow,  and  then,  in  return  for  all 
this  confidence,  frankness  and  treachery,  meekly  re- 
quested that  some  small  hole  be  opened  through  which 
he  himself  might  escape.  Fisk  listened  attentively  till 
he  had  drawn  from  his  informant  full  knowledge  of  every 
detail  of  the  circumstances  and  designs  of  his  opponents 
and  then  to  the  request  with  which  the  narrative  ended 
he  returned  a  sardonic  laugh  and  said,  "  Ah  !  ha !  old 
fellow,  I've  got  you  just  where  I  want  you  now !  By  this 
revelation  of  the  situation  you  are  all  placed  wholly  in 
my  power.  You're  in  and  you  can't  get  out,  bellow  as 
much  as  you  may  !" 

The  "old  man  eloquent"  in  tears  plead  and  besought 
to  be  relieved  and  expressed  an  entire  willingness  to 
retract  the  affidavits  on  which  the  suit  was  to  be  insti- 
tuted and  help  to  harrass  all  the  rest  in  every  possible 
way  if  he  were  only  assisted  to  provide  for  "  them  shorts" 
on  easy  terms.  But  Fisk  was  inexorable.  He  knew 


142  DREW    ON    HIS    KNEES. 

how  much  a  promise  of  Drew's  was  worth,  he  knew  that 
Drew  could  now  help  him  to  nothing  which  he  could  not 
do  better,  alone,  he  knew  that  Drew  was  his  choicest 
piece  of  game,  the  man  from  whom  most  money  could  be 
wrung  in  the  present  situation,  and  he  prized  as  do  few 
men,  fortunately,  the  fine  opportunity  of  gratifying  re- 
venge. He  therefore  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  the  mourn- 
ful entreaties,  told  Drew  he  was  "  the  last  man  that  ought 
to  whine  over  any  position  he  placed  himself  in  with 
regard  to  Erie,"  and  finally  got  so  impatient  of  the 
continued  appeals  that  he  informed  him  he  could  listen  to 
him  no  longer.  After  hours  of  Belf-humiliation  and 
abject  cringing,  the  wily  veteran  of  two-and-seventy  years 
suddenly  composed  his  countenance  as  a  child  dries  its 
tears  on  finding  they  are  useless,  and,  acting  upon  Fisk's 
polite  request  to  leave,  heaping  coals  of  fire  on  his 
enemy's  head  with  an  urbanity  that  Chesterfield  might 
have  envied,  though  it  must  have  fallen  much  like  a  pun 
at  a  funeral,  he  mildly  said  "  I'll  bid  you  good  evening" 
and  bowed  himself  out. 

The  situation  now  called  for  immediate  action  on  the 
part  of  Fisk  and  Gould  and  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost. 
As  soon  as  Drew  had  retired  Fisk  summoned  a  council  of 
his  confederates  to  listen  to  the  information  he  had  gained 
and  decide  upon  the  course  to  pursue.  The  tactics 
speedily  adopted  stamped  them  as  men  of  no  common 
mould  and  as  possessed  of  no  common  power.  It  was 
decided  to  forestall  the  coming  Belmont  suit  by  commenc- 


BARNARD   CONVERTED.  143 

ing  a  suit  first.  Affidavits  were  at  once  made  alleging 
that  certain  parties  were  conspiring  to  injure  the  Erie 
Bail-way  by  interfering  -with  the  directors,  that  there  was 
danger  of  injunctions  that  would  be  of  great  injury  to  the 
interests  of  the  road,  the  stockholders  and  the  public,  etc., 
etc.,  and  therefore  the  appointment  of  a  receiver  to  take 
charge  of  the  road  was  prayed  for.  And  now  to  whom 
should  they  go  to  get  this  legal  farce  and  bare-faced  fraud 
carried  out  ?  What  judge,  in  the  light  of  this  nineteenth 
century  and  in  this  land  of  boasted  liberty  and  law,  would 
disgrace  the  bench  by  performing  such  a  monstrous 
parody  on  the  very  name  of  law  ?  Who  would  dream  of 
their  going  to  the  very  judge  whom  they  had  declared 
corrupt  in  a  former  affidavit,  who  had  chased  them  out  of 
the  State  only  eight  months  before,  taken  the  lead  in  de- 
nouncing them  as  villains,  and  pronounced  the  bill  they 
had  bribed  through  the  Legislature  to  be  "a  bill  legaliz- 
ing counterfeit  money?"  Yet  this  was  what  they  did. 
George  G.  Barnard  was  the  judge  selected  to  authorize 
this  fraud.  Nor  did  they  wait  for  him  to  appear  in  his 
Court.  They  surprised  him  on  Monday  morning  before 
his  toilet  was  completed,  and  such  was  the  strange  trans- 
formation that  had  come  over  the  mental,  moral  and 
legal  nature  of  this  man  since  the  spring  months  that  he 
extended  a  cordial  greeting  to  these  men  he  then  so 
vehemently  anathematized,  and  soon  the  outrage  was  legal- 
ized by  the  same  signature  that  was  attached  to  the  writs 
which  had  driven  the  suitors  into  exile  on  the  llth  of  the 


144  COTJRT   SESSION    EXTRAOfcDINABY. 

preceding  March.  This  infamous  step  taken,  the  details 
were  in  perfect  keeping.  The  request  for  a  receiver 
having  been  granted,  who  was  a  proper  person  for  such  a 
responsible  trust?  The  man  whom  this  upright  judge 
deemed  it  most  appropriate  to  appoint  was  none  other  than 
Jay  Gould !  And  as  the  receiver  of  such  a  responsible 
trust  must  give  heavy  and  most  undoubted  bonds,  who 
wouldx  be  his  bondsman  ?  The  one  bondsman  in  every 
way  satisfactory  to  the  distinguished  Court  was  James 
Fisk,  Jr. !  With  this  monstrous  proceeding  thus  sanc- 
tioned by  the  Supreme  Court,  the  surprise  party  withdrew 
and  left  Judge  Barnard  to  complete  his  toilet  at  leisure. 

When  the  Courts  opened  at  ten  o'clock,  Mr.  Belmont's 
lawyers  appeared  before  Judge  Sutherland  and  com- 
menced proceedings  in  the  regular  way,  obtaining  an 
injunction  and  getting  Mr.  Davies,  an  ex-judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  appointed  receiver.  When  they  had 
been  through  with  all  their  trouble  and  felt  themselves 
now  secure,  the  Drew-Belmont  party  were  somewhat  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  "  the  regular  way  "  was  altogether  too 
slow  a  coach  to  travel  by  if  they  would  head  off  Messrs. 
Fisk  and  Gould  and  were  astonished  not  a  little  to  find 
that  a  receiver  had  already  been  appointed  in  the  interest 
of  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  while  Judge  Sutherland  was 
still  enjoying  his  last  slumbers  in  the  morning,  and  that 
that  receiver  was  Jay  Gould,  with  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  for 
bondsman.  Under  the  influence  of  this  news  in  Wall 


MORE  OP  BARNARD'S  EQUITY.  145 

Street  that  day,  Erie  fluctuated  wildly  from  50  up  to  61 
and  then  back  to  48.  It  seemed  as  though  the  utmost 
length  of  iniquity  to  which  a  judge  would  dare  go  had 
been  reached  by  Judge  Barnard  in  this  day's  proceedings, 
but  on  Wednesday  morning  he  followed  it  up  by  an  order 
which  made  the  one  of  Monday,  black  as  it  was,  seem 
"  pure  as  the  driven  snow."  Fisk  and  Gould  wanted  to 
use  the  funds  of  the  Erie  treasury  in  manipulating  their 
"  corner,"  but  there  is  a  statute  expressly  forbidding  any 
railroad  to  speculate  in  its  own  stock  and  they  felt  it 
worth  while  to  clothe  their  steps  with  some  small  show 
of  legality.  To  compass  their  purpose,  affidavits  were 
made  stating  that  some  doubts  existed  as  to  the  legality 
of  a  recent  issue  of  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  shares 
of  stock,  wherefore  Mr.  Receiver  Gould  petitioned  the 
Court  for  instruction  and  authority  to  use  the  funds  of  the 
Erie  treasury  to  buy  back  this  stock  of  doubtful  legality 
at  any  price  less  than  par,  that  it  might  be  cancelled.  In 
other  words,  Jay  Gould,  as  president  of  the  Erie  Railway, 
had  issued  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  shares  of  stock, 
in  direct  violation  of  a  statute  forbidding  an  increase  of 
capital  stock,  and  disposed  of  it  at  about  40  to  depress  the 
market  and  help  on  the  "lock  up,"  and  after  this  course 
had  sent  the  stock  to  35,  Jay  Gould,  as  receiver,  alleging 
the  illegality  of  his  act  as  president,  now  asked  for  author- 
ity in  direct  conflict  with  another  statute  forbidding  any 
railroad  to  speculate  in  its  own  stock,  to  use  the  funds  of 


146  DEEW   GIRDS   UP   HIS   LOINS. 


the  treasury  to  buy  back  at  par  this  very  stock  recently 
sold  by  him  at  about  40.  And  this  authority  Judge 
Barnard  promptly  granted ! 

Drew  had  no  time  to  ejaculate  over  the  enormity  of  this 
order.  Whatever  its  nature,  he  knew  it  meant  "busi- 
ness "  for  him.  He  saw  that  there  was  now  no  possible 
escape  for  him  and  that  he  must  face  the  music  and  buy 
Erie  on  the  best  terms  he  could  to  cover  his  shorts  before 
a  corner  could  be  closed  on  him.  Fisk  and  Gould,  with 
the  whole  Erie  treasury  at  their  disposal  by  order  of 
Judge  Barnard,  now  also  set  to  buying  with  all  their 
might,  determined  to  corner  their  early  instructor.  Drew 
was  70,000  shares  short  and  the  fight  was  a  desperate 
one.  He  knew  it  meant  a  heavy  loss  tq^  him,  but  a  cor- 
ner meant  a  still  heavier  one,  and  he  fought  against  it 
accordingly.  The  battle  raged  all  day  long  on  Wednesday 
and  at  night  Erie  sto'od  at  57.  Still  the  contest  was  not 
decided.  Drew  had  not  secured  enough  to  cover  his 
contracts,  Fisk  and  Gould  had  not  secured  enough  to 
perfect  the  corner.  The  next  morning  the  battle  was 
renewed,  both  parties  knowing  that  the  decisive  hour 
would  be  past  and  victory  decided  before  that  day 
closed.  The  books  of  the  company  show  pretty  accurately 
where  all  the  stock  is — how  much  in  Europe  and  how 
much  in  Wall  Street,  so  Fisk  and  Gould  could  tell  very 
nearly  how  much  they  had  to  control  to  secure  their 
corner.  On  Thursday  the  battle  raged  with  a  fierceness 
and  violence  that  quite  eclipsed,  that  on  the  10th  of  March. 


AJT   KXCIXING    DAT    IN    WALL    SXBEXT.  147 

Collisions  and  blows  were  net  infrequent  in  the  excite- 
ment. As  it  approached  two  o'clock  Erie  stood  at  62  and 
the  scales  seemed  turning  against  Drew.  So  desperate 
was  the  struggle  that  there  was  a  difference  of  10  per  cent, 
between  stock  delivered  immediately  and  that  to  be  de- 
livered at  a  quarter  to  three.  As  the  strife  was  only  for 
the  corner,  which  must  culminate  that  day,  and  it  was 
certain  the  stock  would  fall  again  when  the  crisis  was 
over,  and  especially  after  the  steamer  arrived  on  Monday 
bringing  back  from  Europe  a  large  amount  of  the  stock, 
there  was  a  difference  of  16  per  cent,  between  stock  to  be 
delivered  that  day  and  that  to  be  delivered  in  three  days. 
It  is  two  o'clock  and  in  fifteen  minutes  more  the  battle 
will  be  over.  Fisk  and  Gould  are  now  confident  and 
Drew's  heart  is  sinking  as  he  feels  himself  falling  into 
their  pitiless  clutches.  The  noise  of  conflict  has  extended 
much  further  than  usual  from  Wall  Street,  and  an  un- 
wonted number  of  lookers-on  have  gathered  around. 
Every  man  holding  a  share  of  the  stock  that  has  been  so 
fickle  deems  this  his  most  favorable  time  to  sell  and  every 
available  share  is  now  thrown  upon  the  market.  Sud- 
denly large  quantities  of  stock  supposed  to  be  in  Europe 
make  their  appearance.  This  makes  matters  seem  very 
dangerous  for  the  side  that  has  almost  won.  A  hasty 
investigation  shows  that  some  hundred  thousand  shares 
issued  in  certificates  of  ten  shares  each,  intended  for  circu- 
lation in  Europe  only,  had  been  laid  away  by  small 
purchasers  in  New  York  and  were  now  being  brought  out. 


148  DREW'S  IAST  BATTLB. 

This  is  a  damaging  blow  to  Fisk  and  Gould  and  a  heavy 
reinforcement  of  their  opponent  at  the  very  turning  point 
of  the  battle.  However,  there  must  be  no  wavering  or 
the  day  is  lost.  The  stock  must  be  absorbed  at  all 
hazards  and  as  but  ten  minutes  more  remain  they  throw 
themselves  into  the  breech  with  all  the  vehemence  and 
nerve  for  which  Fisk  is  noted,  undaunted  by  the  un- 
toward event.  They  are  gathering  in  the  unexpected 
stock  by  the  hundred  shares  per  minute,  when  their 
bank  becomes  suddenly  alarmed  at  the  amount  of  checks 
that  flow  in  for  certification  to  meet  this  last  grand  charge 
and  refuse  to  certify  their  checks  for  any  further  sums, 
and  dealers  refuse  to  accept  their  checks  unless  certified. 
The  blow  is  vexatious,  but  Fisk  is  still  undaunted  and 
rallies  to  the  new  emergency  with  the  energy  of  a  man 
borne  on  by  the  most  determined  will  and  desperation 
combined.  Arrangements  are  instantly  made  to  have 
their  checks  certified  at  another  bank  and  they  return  for 
the  last  desperate  charge  that  is  to  win  the  day.  But  five 
minutes  have  been  lost  in  making  the  new  arrangement 
for  having  their  checks  certified  and  they  are  the  five  last, 
decisive  moments  of  the  struggle.  Drew  improved  them 
while  his  enemies  were  crippled.  His  shorts  were  covered 
and  the  corner  was  defeated.  Erie  dropped  at  once  to  42. 
It  had  been  a  battle  of  giants  in  which  both  parties  had 
suffered  severely,  each  inflicting  heavy  and  damaging 
blows  upon  the  other  and  neither*  gaining  a  triumph. 
Drew  had  escaped  the  ruinous  grip  of  a  corner,  but  had 


DBEW  EETIMSS.  149 

been  forced  to  cover  at  about  58  his  contracts  for  70,000 
shares  of  which  he  went  short  at  about  38,  and  the  day 
had  cost  him  about  a  million  and  a  half  dollars.  Fisk 
and  Gould  had  gratified  revenge  upon  Drew,  but  as  they 
had  bought  enormous  quantities  of  stock  at  the  high 
prices  and  had  failed  to  get  their  corner  on  Drew  to  re- 
lieve them  of  their  burdens  and  the  stock  had  now  fallen 
on  their  hands,  the  revenge  had  cost  them,  or  the  Erie 
Railway,  heavily,  and  the  day  had  probably  more  than 
cancelled  all  their  profits  from  the  preceding  "lock  up  " 
and  bear  campaign. 

With  this  day's  battle  Daniel  Drew  retired  from  aH 
active  part  in  Wall  Street  affairs.  A  long  career  of  con- 
stant strifes  and  battles  closed  with  a  severe  and  bitter 
blow,  but  it  left  him  still  possessed  of  millions.  He  saw 
the  spirit  of  young  America  was  getting  far  too  strong  for 
hia  aged  nerves  and  retired  to  his  native  town  to  devote 
himself  entirely  to  building  and  endowing  Methodist 
churches,  Methodist  seminaries  and  attending  Methodist 
prayer-meetings.  He  is  seen  "on  the  street"  no  more 
except  at  rare  intervals,  when  he  comes  down  to  look  on 
with  an  expression  of  mute,  child-like  wonder  on  his 
countenance  and  his  arms  folded  behind  him  as  he  watches 
how  deftly  his  young  pupils  now  stack  the  cards  and  throw 
the  dice ;  but  to  all  invitations  to  take  a  hand  in  the  game 
once  more  he  mournfully  shakes  his  head. 

Through  the  week  following  the  culmination  of  the 
struggle  between  Drew  and  Fisk  the  utmost  confusion 


150  RUMORS   OF   ABSCONDING. 

prevailed  in  regard  to  Erie  matters,  several  new  suits 
being  instituted  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  opposing 
receivers  contending  for  possession,  and  the  wildest  reports 
circulated  as  to  the  designs  of  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould.  For 
a  day  or  two  it  was  fully  believed  that  they  intended  to 
abscond  to  Canada  or  Europe,  taking  with  them  all  the 
funds  of  the  Erie  treasury.  They  barricaded  themselves 
in  the  Erie  offices  and  it  was  found  impossible  to  get  to 
them  to  serve  upon  them  any  papers  in  the  suits  that  had 
been  instituted.  Officers  were  stationed  around  the  build- 
ing and  at  all  the  ferries  and  depots  to  catch  them  in  case 
they  attempted  to  escape.  After  this  situation  had  lasted 
for  a  week,  late  on  Sunday  night  several  of  the  party 
emerged  from  the  office  and  started  for  the  ferry.  Fisk 
was  immediately  approached  and  served  with  some  legal 
papers,  whereupon  he  returned  to  the  office  to  ascertain 
their  nature.  Knowing  now  that  he  was  closely  watched 
and  that  he  might  be  served  with  numberless  other  legal 
documents  and  even  be  arrested  if  he  made  another  open 
attempt  to  cross  the  ferry,  he  prepared  himself  as  if  for  a 
masquerade.  In  this  guise,  with  his  identity  concealed, 
he  once  more  emerged  from  the  office  and  approaching  a 
carriage  that  stood  in  waiting,  instructed  the  driver,  in  a 
loud  disguised  voice,  to  drive  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  and 
then  entered  the  carriage.  The  driver  drove  rapidly  up 
the  street  a  few  blocks  and  then  in  obedience  to  previous 
secret  instructions  disobeyed  the  loud  direction  given  out 
as  a  blind,  drove  to  the  Courtlandt  Street  ferry,  and  by 


A   SPECIAL   TEAIK   AT  MIDNIGHT.  151 

this  circuitous  passage  landed  his  precious  freight  safely 
in  New  Jersey.  Some  officers,  suspecting  such  a  move, 
had  crossed  over  the  ferry  to  the  Erie  depot  in  Jersey 
City.  Here  they  found  a  director's  car  and  an  engine 
ready  for  a  start,  though  they  were  informed  no  train  was 
going  out.  Waiting  to  watch  developments,  they  soon 
'  heard  an  unusual  whistle  up  the  road  towards  the  Bergen 
tunnel.  At  sound  of  this  the  track-master  feigned  much 
excitement  at  the  position  of  the  director's  car,  told  the 
engineer  he  had  no  business  on  that  track  and  ordered 
him  to  start  up  and  back  down  upon  another  track.  The 
engineer  started  up  but,  instead  of  backing  down  as  di- 
rected, kept  increasing  his  speed  and  passed  off  up  the 
road,  leaving  the  officers  standing  alone.  These  circum- 
stances were  put  together  and  it  was  now  considered  as  a 
certainty  that  Fisk  and  Gould  had  run  away  and  carried 
all  the  money  of  the  Erie  Railway  with  them,  and  an- 
nouncements to  that  effect  were  made  in  all  the  papers 
next  morning.  When  Fisk  got  the  morning  papers  from 
New  York  and  read  the  news,  he  telegraphed  back  an 
indignant  denial  and  his  card  was  published  in  the  same 
papers  next  morning.  He  declared  he  had  only  gone  to 
Binghampton  on  matters  connected  with  the  business  of 
the  road,  and  such  proved  to  be  the  fact.  Mr.  Fisk  re- 
garded the  articles  published  about  him  as  gross  libels  and 
on  returning  to  the  city  he  immediately  commenced  suits 
for  libel  against  all  the  leading  papers,  laying  the  damages 
in  each  case  at  $100,000.  He,  however,  subsequently  so 


152  LAW    StTITS    OK    A    GIGANTIC    8CALB. 

far  controlled  his  indignation  as  to  think  it  not  worth  his 
while  to  bring  any  of  these  suits  to  trial.  Everybody  now 
seeming  to  feel  satisfied  that  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  do 
anything  to  bring  the  managing  spirits  to  justice  or  rescue 
the  property  of  the  Erie  stockholders  from  these  men,  and 
that  there  was  no  way  but  to  let  them  run  their  course,  a 
calm  succeeded  in  Erie  affairs,  and  all  attacks  and  efforts 
ceased.  This  seemed  to  give  Mr.  Fisk  the  impression  that 
he  held  the  world  in  a  sling  and  he  now  commenced  legal 
proceedings  against  nearly  everybody  on  a  most  magnifi- 
cent scale.  December  10th  he  commenced  a  suit  against 
Vanderbilt  for  $3,500,000,  alleging  that  the  settlement  of 
July  was  illegal,  and  seeking  to  recover  the  money  paid 
Vanderbilt  on  that  occasion.  A  suit  was  commenced 
against  Work  and  Schell  on  the  same  transaction  in  the 
sum  of  $429,250.  August  Belmont  was  sued  for  injuring 
the  Erie  Railway  by  commencing  a  suit  against  its  direc- 
tors and  the  damages  were  placed  at  a  million  of  dollars. 
An  examination  of  the  records  of  the  Erie  office  showed 
that  some  years  before  when  Drew  was  director  he  had 
bought  certain  steamboats  of  the  company,  used  them  in 
the  company's  business  on  Lake  Erie,  charged  the  com- 
pany for  said  service  and  finally  resold  the  steamers  to 
the  company.  This  proceeding  was  alleged  to  be  fraudu- 
lent from  beginning  to  end,  and  a  suit  therefor  was 
commenced  against  Drew  for  the  sum  of  a  million  of 
dollars.  It  is  impossible  to  predict  how  far  similar  pro- 
ceedings might  have  been  kept  up  had  not  some  other 


JISK   AND   VANDEEBILT   LOO   KOLLIK8.  153 

business  of  a  diverting  nature  required  a  little  attention 
from  Mr.  Fisk  and  afforded  him  a  new  amusement. 

The  Legislature  was  soon  to  meet  at  Albany  and  Messrs. 
Fisk  and  Q-ould  naturally  apprehended  that  trouble  might 
come  to  them  from  that  quarter  and  that  investigating 
committees  might  be  showered  down  upon  them  to  in- 
quire into  their  conduct  and  the  condition  of  the  Erie 
Railway.  Hostile  legislation  was  expected  in  the  matter 
of  their  enormous  icsue  of  new  stock.  But  Vanderbilt 
had  declared  a  stock  dividend  of  80  per  cent,  on  the  cap- 
ital of  the  N.  Y.  Central  Dec.  19th,  and  this  was  an  in- 
crease of  capital  or  a  watering  of  the  stock  about  the 
legality  of  which  there  was  some  doubt  also  as  well  as 
about  the  Erie  issue.  Here  was  an  excellent  opportunity 
for  log  rolling.  A  bill  legalizing  Vanderbilt' s  stock  divi- 
dend was  passed  through  the  Legislature  without  any  dif- 
ficulty and  the  affairs  of  Erie  were  permitted  to  rest  in 
peace.  But  now  Vanderbilt  wanted  to  get  through  a  bill 
to  consolidate  the  Hudson  Eiver  and  Central  roads.  Fisk 
and  Gould,  apprehending  that  their  election  from  year  to 
year  would  be  a  matter  involving  them  in  a  severe  contest 
and  many  unpleasant  circumstances,  wanted  to  avoid  the 
necessity  of  an  annual  battle  to  prevent  the  stockholders 
from  turning  them  out  of  office.  They  therefore  had  a 
bill  prepared  providing  that  after  the  next  annual  elec- 
tion the  Erie  directors  should  be  classified  so  that  only 
one  fifth  of  them  should  be  elected  annually.  They  were 
to  be  divided  into  classes,  the  first  to  hold  office  for  six 


154  THE   EBIE   CLASSIFICATION   BILL. 

years,  the  second  for  five  and  so  on,  the  last  class  holding 
for  one  year  only,  but  all  future  elections  to  be  for  six 
years.  Either  this  bill  or  Vanderbilt's  consolidation  bill 
would,  alone,  meet  with  a  bitter  opposition  and  require 
vast  sums  of  money  to  put  them  in  a  favorable  light  be- 
fore the  legislators.  The  Legislature  was  Republican, 
though  the  Governor  was  Democratic  (a  circumstance 
explained  by  the  ingenious  system  of  "repeating"  in 
New  York  city),  and  the  man  engineering  the  Erie  classi- 
fication bill  was  Wm.  M.  Tweed,  "boss"  of  the  Demo- 
crats and  also  himself  an  Erie  director.  The  wishes  of 
Vanderbilt  and  the  Erie  ring  not  being  antagonistic,  and 
knowing  how  much  harm  they  could  do  each  other  by 
opposition,  the  two  parties  now  joined  in  another  little 
"pool,"  this  time  to  operate  not  in  stocks  but  in  the  votes 
of  the  worthy  law-makers  and  guardians  of  the  public 
weal  in  the  great  Empire  State.  They  knew  how  many 
votes  must  be  bought  and  what  was  their  price  under 
various  circumstances.  They  could  unite  and  carry  both 
bills  through  for  a  much  less  sum  than  each  would  cost 
if  the  other  opposed.  Hence  a  truce  was  made  to  their 
enmities,  the  two  bills  went  speedily  through  without 
difficulty  and  the  same  day  the  suit  of  Belmont  (in  which 
Vanderbilt  was  supposed  to  be  influential)  against  the  Erie 
Railway  was  discontinued.  This  classification  bill,  though 
its  avowed  purpose  and  immediate  consequence  were  well 
known,  and  though  there  was  no  doubt  but  that  it  was 
bribed  through  the  Legislature,  received  the  signature  of 


DRAWING   LOTS.  155 

Governor  John  T.  Hoffman.  At  the  next  annual  election 
Fisk  and  Gould  carried  everything  their  own  way  by  arts 
similar  to  those  practised  the  previous  year,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  "  draw  lots  "  to  determine  who  should  have  the 
long  terms  and  who  the  short  ones  under  the  classification 
bill.  -  Of  course  Fisk  and  Gould  both  drew  the  longest 
term,  and  thus  by  the  act  of  a  bribed  Legislature  and  tho 
signature  of  John  T.  Hoffman  the  Erie  Railway  was 
placed  in  the  absolute  control  of  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  and  Jay 
Gould  for  six  years  beyond  the  reach  of  the  wishes  and 
voice  of  the  stockholders.  Of  the  directors  chosen  at  this 
election,  five  were  salaried  clerks  in  the  employ  of  Fisk 
and  Gould  and  were  of  course  their  obedient  tools,  mere 
holders  of  places  like  so  many  wooden  men,  with  no  voice 
whatever  in  the  management,  thus  giving  these  two  men 
absolute  control  of  a  majority  of  the  board  of  directors. 
Some  six  or  seven  of  the  other  directors  were  men  of  much 
higher  character,  but  they  were  merely  put  in  as  respect- 
able figure-heads,  and  had  all  signed  a  pledge  to  support 
Gould's  policy  or  resign.  And,  in  fact,  even  the  formality 
of  calling  an  occasional  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors 
was  long  ago  dispensed  with  and  everything  is  managed 
by  the  executive  committee,  Fisk,  Gould,  Lane  and  Tweed, 
without  ever  thinking  of  taking  a  vote  of  the  others. 
Indeed  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  have  probably  forgotten 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  board  of  directors  of  the 
Erie  Eailway,  and  practically  there  is  none.  In  this 
manner  have  things  gone  on  now  for  three  years  with 


156  TTNOPPOSED   HASTEE   OP   EEIE. 

hardly  an  effort  from  any  quarter  to  oppose  them.  One 
public-spirited  citizen  purchased  some  of  the  stock  and 
commenced  legal  proceedings  with  a  design  of  bringing 
Fisk  and  Gould  to  account.  The  result  was  that  his  suit 
was  taken  out  of  the  district  in  which  he  brought  it, 
dragged  before  Judge  Barnard  in  New.  York  city,  who 
issued  an  injunction  forbidding  him  from  taking  any  fur- 
ther proceedings,  fined  him  $5,000  for  contempt  of  court 
in  violating  this  injunction  by  making  preparations  for  the 
trial,  then  he  was  forced  to  trial  without  any  preparation 
and  before  this  same  judge,  and,  when  he  objected  to 
going  to  trial  before  Barnard,  judgment  was  entered 
against  him  by  default.  This  experiment  was  not  en- 
couraging for  any  one  else  to  attempt  to  interfere  with 
Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  in  their  management.  A  bill 
was  introduced  into  the  last  Legislature  to  repeal  the  Erie 
classification  bill,  but  after  slumbering  in  the  hands  of  the 
committee  for  several  weeks,  a  majority  reported  against 
the  repeal,  having  been  convinced  of  its  propriety.  Pro- 
bably the  committee  on  railroads  for  many  years  to  come 
will  need  to  have  their  minds  convinced  annually  on  this 
subject  by  the  arguments  Messrs.  Gould  and  Fisk  are 
adepts  at  applying,  and  after  considering  the  matter  care- 
fully, a  la  Mattoon,  will  report  against  the  repeal. 

The  issue  of  new  stock  and  the  tricks  of  the  manage- 
ment in  the  fall  of  1868  became  so  outrageous  that  the 
Stock  Board  at  length  resolved  to  shield  itself  from  such 
frauds.  On  the  27th  of  October  a  committee  of  the 


A    EESOLUTION    FOE   EKIE's    BENEFIT.  157 

board  waited  upon  Jay  Gould  to  make  inquiries  as  to  the 
amount  of  new  stock  that  had  been  issued  and  the 
probabilities  as  to  more  new  issues.  The  president  of 
Erie  was  very  bland  and  affable  to  the  committee,  his 
neryous  black  eye  twinkling  with  an  unwonted  sparkle 
as  he  talked  at  much  length  upon  every  question  asked 
him.  The  committee  were  quite  dazzled  by  the  grandeur 
of  his  notions  and  ideas,  and  with  their  eyes  thus  loaded 
with  dust  they  returned  to  report  progress.  When  the 
knowledge  they  had  gathered  was  submitted  to  the  cru- 
cible of  the  board  and  stripped  of  Jay  Gould's  verbiage, 
it  was  found  that  new  stock  had  been  issued  to  the 
extent  of  ten  millions  of  dollars  and  there  was  no  telling 
how  long  the  process  would  be  kept  up.  This  much- 
enduring  body,  unable  to  restrain  their  indignation  and 
impatience  any  longer,  passed  a  resolution  : 

"  That  on  and  after  January  31st,  1869,  this  board  will 
not  call  or  deal  in  any  active  speculative  stock  of  any 
company  a  registry  of  whose  stock  is  not  kept  in  some 
responsible  bank  or  trust  company  or  other  satisfactory 
agency,  and  which  shall  not  give  public  notice  at  the  time 
of  establishing  such  registry  of  the  number  of  shares  so 
entrusted  to  be  registered  and  shall  not  give  at  least  thirty 
days'  notice  through  the  newspapers  and  in  writing  to  the 
president  of  this  board  of  any  intended  increase  of  the 
number  of  shares,  either  direct  or  through  an  issue  of 
convertible  bonds,  and  which  shall  not  at  the  same  time 
give  notice  of  the  object  for  which  such  issue  of  stock  or 
bonds  is  about  to  be  made." 


158  EBIB   THEOW1T    OTTT   OF   THE   STOCK   EXCHANGE. 

This  was  a  most  reasonable  and  appropriate  regula- 
tion and  one  to  which  no  honest  board  of  directors 
could  make  the  least  objection ;  but  when  the  ap- 
pointed 31st  of  January,  1869,  arrived  Erie  had  not 
registered  in  compliance  with  this  resolution  and  it  was 
consequently  stricken  from  the  list  of  stocks  called 
at  the  Stock  Board.  Fisk  and  Gould,  with  an  utter 
indifference  and  even  contempt  for  this  disgrace  of  their 
road  and  stock,  stepped  just  across  Broad  Street  from  the 
Stock  Exchange,  engaged  a  suitable  room,  organized  a 
new  board  of  their  own,  called  the  National  Board, 
wherein  Erie  and  all  the  other  stocks  were  called  and 
dealt  in  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  It  was  not 
till  a  year  and  a  half  later  that  Erie  was  finally  registered 
and  resumed  its  place  on  the  list  at  the  Stock  Board. 

Between  the  time  that  these  men  came  into  power  and 
September  30th,  1869,  the  capital  stock  of  the  road  was 
increased  $53,425,700.  The  amount  expended  in  equip- 
ping and  improving  the  road  during  the  same  time  was 
$6,297,067,  leaving  $49,128,633  wholly  unaccounted  for. 
No  dividend  was  declared  on  any  of  the  stock  after  the 
advent  of  Fisk  and  Gould ;  the  debts  of  the  corporation 
were  largely  increased,  so  that  all  the  profits  earned  by 
the  road,  as  well  as  the  many  millions  received  for  new 
stock,  remains!  unaccounted  for.  No  one  but  Fisk  and 
Gould  knew  anything  about  it,  and  what  they  knew  they 
were  sagely  inclined  to  keep  to  themselves.  The  same 
policy  and  style  of  management  was  kept  up  to  the  end, 


BEAT  *'H7CTUATIONS  IN  THIS  STOCK.  159 

the  deeds  constantly  deepening  in  darkness  of  hue,  as  a 
course  of  crime  ever  does— the  stock  fluctuating  between 
twenty  and  thirty  per  cent  of  its  par  value. 


OHAPTEE  Tin. 

REVENGE A  LETTRE    DE    CACHET AN    EDITOR     WHIPPED    INTO 

JAIL   AT   MIDNIGHT TAIN    SEARCHES  FOR   FISK    AND    MAGIS- 
TRATES  MR.    FISK    GLORIES    OVER   THE   EVENT   IN    PRINT. 

Mr.  Fisk  closed  the  first  year  of  his  prominence  in  New 
Tork  by  an  act  betraying  the  worst  and  most  dangerous 
trait  of  his  character — a  trait  much  more  dangerous  to 
himself  than  to  its  victims — a  delight  in  spiteful,  wanton, 
bootless  revenge.  On  the  morning  of  December  23d  the 
citizens  of  New  York  were  startled  by  an  item  of  news  in 
the  morning  papers  that  sounded  more  like  an  echo  of 
the  days  of  lettres  de  cachet  and  the  French  Bastile  than 
the  nineteenth  century  and  the  land  that  boasts  of  being 
in  the  van  of  liberty  and  personal  security.  A  distin- 
guished and  .highly  respected  gentleman  had  been 
suddenly  seized  the  previous  night  and  whipped  into 
prison  without  being  informed  of  the  cause,  handled  in 
the  roughest  manner,  and  all  friends  were  refused 
admittance  to  see  him  till  morning. 

About  nine  o'clock  on  the  night  of  December  22d, 
while  the  New  England  Society  in  New  York  were 


WHIPPED    INTO   JAIL   AT    MIDNIGHT.  161 

around  the  "festive  board"  commemorating  the  landing 
of  the  Pilgrims  on  Plymouth  Rock,  and  the  Sachems  of 
Tammany  Hall  were  in  like  manner  celebrating  the 
election  of  A.  Oakey  Hall  as  Mayor,  Samuel  Bowles,  Esq., 
the  well-known  editor  of  the  Springfield  Itepublican,  was 
standing  in  the  main  hall  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel, 
talking  with  some  friends,  when  two  men  came  in, 
one  of  whom  passed  behind  him  then  turned  suddenly, 
seized  him  by  the  arms,  and  rushed  him  along  towards 
the  street  while  the  other  held  a  crumpled  paper  in  his 
face  saying  it  was  an  order  for  his  arrest  and  helping 
push  him  out  of  tho  house.  When  they  reached  the 
sidewalk  a  carriage  was  in  waiting  into  which  Mr.  Bowles 
was  hurriedly  forced  and  then  driven  rapidly  away  to 
Ludlow  Street  jail.  The  movement  was  so  sudden,  and 
the  spectators  were  taken  so  completely  by  surprise,  that 
no  interference  could  be  made  on  his  behalf.  When  se- 
curely behind  the  bars  of  the  jail,  Mr.  Bowles  was 
permitted  to  read  the  legal  document  in  virtue  of  which 
he  had  thus  been  seized  and  incarcerated.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  proceeding  proved  to  bo  as  follows : 

SUPERIOR  COURT,  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

JAMES  FISK,  Jn., 

vt, 

SAMUEL  BOWLES  and  others,  composing 
the  firm  of  Samuel  Bowles  &  Co. 


CITY  AND  COUXTY  op  Nrrw  YORK,  ts.  : 

James  Fisk,  Jr.,  being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and  says 


162  THB     CAUSE. 

that  he  is  the  plaintiff  in  the  above  entitled  action ;  that 
on  the  28th  day  of  November,  1868,  the  defendant, 
Samuel  Bowles,  being  the  principal  editor  or  editor  in 
chief  of  certain  newspapers  published  by  the  said  Samuel 
Bowles  &  Co.,  in  the  City  of  Springfield  and  State  of 
Massachusetts,  known  and  described  as  "The  Daily 
Springfield  llepublican"  and  "The  Semi- Weekly  Spring- 
field Republican,"  did  compose  and  publish  of  and  con- 
cerning this  deponent,  plaintiff  aforesaid,  the  following 
false,  malicious  scandalous  and  defamatory  matter,  to  wit: 
"But  Fisk  has  probably  destroyed  the  credit  of  the 
railroad  (meaning  the  Erie  Eailway  Co.),  while  piling  up 
a  fortune  for  himself.  The  multiplication  of  its  stock  has 
been  fearful.  From  thirty  millions  of  nominal  capital  a 
year  ago  it  has  been  raised  to  sixty  or  seventy  millions 
and  what  there  is  to  show  for  the  difference  beyond  some 
worthless  securities  of  the  Hartford  &  Erie  Railroad  and 
a  million  or  two  of  real  estate  it  is  now  impossible  to  say. 
The  issue  of  new  shares  seems  to  have  been  wanton,  and 
to  no  purpose  in  great  part  but  to  gamble  in  Wall  Street 
with.  Nothing  so  audacious,  nothing  more  gigantic  in 
the  way  of  swindling  has  ever  been  perpetrated  in  this 
country,  and  yet  it  may  bo  that  Mr.  Fisk  and  his  asso- 
ciates have  done  nothing  that  they  cannot  legally  justify, 
at  least  in  the  New  York  Courts,  several  of  which  they 
(meaning  deponent  Fisk  and  others)  seem  wholly  to  own. 
Fisk's  operations  are  said  to  be  under  the  legal  guidance 
of  both  David  Dudley  Field  and  Charles  O'Connor,  and 
now  both  Judge  Barnard  of  the  State  and  Judge  Blatch- 
ford  of  the  United  States  Court,  back  up*  and  help  on  his 

proceedings Many  even  of  his  friends  predict  for 

him  the  state  prison  or  the  lunatic  asylum." 


THE     CAU8K.  168 

Deponent  further  says  that  the  same  matte*  as  last 
above  rccitod  as  having  been  published  in  the  said 
"Daily  and  Serni- Weekly  Springfield  Republican"  was. 
republishcd  in  "The  Weekly  Springfield  Republican? 
also  published  by  the  above  named  defendants,  on  tlio 
5th  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1868.  Deponent  further 
says  that  an  action  was  commenced  in  this  Court  by 
this  deponent  on  the  21st  day  of  December,  1868,  for 
libel  for  the  above  recited  false,  malicious,  scandalous 
and  defamatory  matter,  as  above  stated,  published  by 
the  defendants  against  the  above  named  plaintiff  claim- 
ing damages  in  the  sum  of  $50,000. 

Deponent  further  says  that  the  said  newspapers,  pub- 
lished by  the  defendants,  have  a  wide  and  extensive  circu- 
lation in  the  City  and  County  of  New  York  and  elsewhere, 
and  that  by  reason  of  said  publication  this  deponent  has 
been  damaged  and  injured  in  his  character  and  reputation 
and  his  usefulness  and  efficiency  as  a  director  and  man- 
ager of  the  vast  interests  intrusted  to  his  care  as  manag- 
ing director  of  the  Erie  Railway  Company  seriously  and 
wantonly  injured  and  damaged — this  as  well  for  the 
stockholders  in  said  company  at  large  as  for  this  depo- 
nent. 

JAMES  Fisx,  JK. 

To  accommodate  Mr.  Fisk,  Judge  McCunn  held  a 
special  evening  session  of  his  Court,  so  urgent  wore  the 
needs  of  justice  in  this  case  deemed,  and  upon  the  above 
affidavit  granted  an  order  for  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Bowles. 
Sheriff  James  O'Brien  being  then  on  very  intimate  terms 
with  Fisk  and  often  detailing  deputies  to  serve  him,  was 
also  easily  found  on  this  occasion  and  deemed  the  matter 


164  COT7BT   AND    SHEKIFF    OBLIGING   MR.    FISK. 

so  important  that  he  went  to  give  his  personal  superin- 
tendence (a  rare  favor)  to  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Bowles.  But 
•  the  moment  the  arrest  was  effected,  none  of  the  faithful 
guardians  and  depositaries  of  the  law  could  bo  found  any 
where.  Every  one  with  power  to  accept  bail  and  release 
Mr.  Bowles  had  disappeared  for  the  night  and  ho  was 
consigned  to  the  jail  till  morning.  Several  of  Mr.  Bowles's 
friends  called  to  see  him  soon  after  his  incarceration,  but 
the  jailor  seemed  to  be  a  friend  of  Fisk's  also,  for  they 
were  refused  permission  to  see  the  prisoner.  Mr.  Dud- 
ley Field  was  greatly  scandalized  at  this  act  of  his 
distinguished  client,  and  as  Mr.  Bowles  was  then  an 
intimate  friend  of  the  Field  family,  he  rode  about 
town  till  the  early  morning  hours  in  search  of  Mr. 
Fisk  to  obtain  the  release  of  the  friend  of  his  family,  but 
in  vain.  All  attempts  tt>  find  a  magistrate  to  accept  bail 
being  of  no  avail  and  the  efforts  of  his  friends  to  obtain 
his  release  before  morning  proving  fruitless,  Mr.  Bowles 
prepared  to  spend  the  night  in  Ludlow  Street  jail.  It 
was  not  a  fate  that  disturbed  his  nerves  in  the  least  and 
he  would  have  cared  nothing  about  it  except  for  his  wife. 
She  was  in  very  feeble  health,  and  he  feared  the  news  of 
the  outrage  coming  so  suddenly  upon  her  might  affect 
her  quite  injuriously.  He  did  manage  to  obtain  from  the 
jailor  the  great  favor  of  sending  her  a  letter,  humorously 
describing  his  prospective  lodgings  for  the  night  and  then 
passed  the  night  without  any  of  the  agony  or  mortification 
•which  Mr.  Fisk  would  doubtless  have  felt  in  the  same 


GBEEK    ETHICS.  165 

situation,  and  therefore  supposed  another  would  feel. 
Ethics  was  not  included  in  the  small  curriculum  of  Mr. 
Fisk's  education  and  he  was  never  a  frequenter  of  Sab- 
bath schools  in  his  youth,  so  ho  has  never  attained  to  such 
a  high  moral  perception  as  to  understand  that  it  is  not  the 
fact  of  being  in  jail,  but  the  cause  of  being  there,  that  con- 
stitutes the  disgrace,  if  disgrace  there  be.  To  him  the 
mere  circumstance  of  being  behind  grates  and  iron  doors 
is  disgrace  and  mortification,  and  so  long  as  that  cannot 
be  said  of  a  man  he  is  honorable  no  matter  what  his  acts, 
but  with  the  jailor's  key  once  turned  on  him  he  must  bow 
his  head  in  shame  forever.  He  seems  to  be  imbued  with 
the  Greek  morals  and  philosophy,  which  placed  the  dis- 
grace not  in  stealing  the  fox  but  in  getting  caught. 

The  next  morning  of  course  Mr.  Bowles  was  immedi- 
ately bailed  and  released,  the  bail  being  put  at  the 
moderate  sum  of  $50,000.  He  rather  enjoyed  the 
episode  than  otherwise,  and  nothing  else  that  Mr,  Fisk 
could  possibly  have  done  would  have  been  such  a  benefit 
to  Mr.  Bowles.  Every  honest  man  in  the  country  saw 
the  principle  of  his  own  liberty  rudely  struck  at  in 
the  person  of  the  Springfield  editor  and  felt  that  if  such 
imperial  outrages  as  this  were  possible  under  the  machi- 
nations of  the  greatest  scapegraces  outside  of  Sing  Sing, 
and  with  the  connivance  of  courts  and  sheriffs,  personal 
freedom  and  safety  were  at  an  end  and  the  time  for  a 
vigilance  committee  had  arrived.  The  whole  press  of  the 
country  teemed  with  denunciations  of  the  outrage  and 


166 


ME.    BOWLES    LIONIZED 


indignation  and  sympathy  for  the  victim.  Letters  flowed 
in  upon  Mr.  Bowles  by  tho  bushel  and  tho  most  dis- 
tinguished citizens  of  Boston  offered  him  tho  compli- 
ment of  n  public  reception  and  dinner,  which  was  mod- 
estly declined.  Tho  act  which  Mr.  Fisk  intended  should 
disgrace  and  mortify  Mr.  Bowles  raised  him  instantly 
to  an  honored  fame  and  prominence  which  he  would 
probably  otherwise  never  havo  achieved.  But  Mr.  Fisk 
evidently  felt  he  had  done  a  very  "smart"  thing  and 
gloried  so  much  in  tho  eclat  of  this  climax  to  his  first 
year  of  conspicuous  position  before  the  public  that  he 
went  into  print  on  tho  subject  as  follows : 

AT  HoiiE,  BOSTON,  MASS., 

Christmas  Day. 

On  tho  28th  of  November  last  "  Samuel  Bowles,  Esq.r 
of  Springfield,  MassM"  published  an  editorial  headed 
"Tto  New  Hero  of  Wall  Street."  It  was  devoted  to  a 
bitter,  abusive,  untruthful  and  unprovoked  attack  on  my 
origin,  vocation,  habits,  personal  appearance,  and  family 
afflictions.  For  example,  with  a  reckless  disregard  of 
truth  and  railroad  possibilities,  "  Samuel  Bowles,  Esq.,  of 
Springfield,  Mass.,"  said  :  "  But  Fisk  has  probably 
destroyed  tho  credit  of  tho  railroad  whilo  piling  up  a 
fortune  for  himself.  Tho  multiplication  of  its  stock  haa 
been  fearful.  From  thirty  millions  of  nominal  capital 
a  year  ago  it  has  been  raised  to  sixty  or  seventy  millions,, 
and  what  there  is  to  show  for  the  difference  beyond  some* 
worthless  securities  of  the  Hartford  &  Erie  Railroad 
and  a  million  or  two  of  real  estate  it  is  now  impossible  to 
gay."  Were  it  not  inconsistent  with  my  well-knoira 


MB.    VISK    QtOKIES    Iff    PBINT.  167 

good  nature  and  forgiving  disposition,  I  should  unhes- 
itatingly pronounce  "Samuel  Bowles,  Esq.,  of  Spring- 
field, Mass.,"  an  abandoned  falsifier  and  a  fool  on  that 
single  statement.  Further  on,  the  Springfield  Republican 
has  asserted  its  capacity  for  wholesale  slander  by  the 
following  astounding  calumny  on  the  Bench  and  Bar  of 
New  York :  "  Nothing  so  audacious,  nothing  more 
gigantic  in  the  way  of  swindling  has  ever  been  perpe- 
trated in  this  country  and  yet  it  may  be  that  Mr.  Fisk 
and  his  associates  have  dono  nothing  that  they  cannot 
legally  justify,  at  least  in  the  New  York  Courts,  several 
of  which  they  seem  wholly  to  own.  Fisk's  operations  are 
said  to  be  under  the  legal  guidance  of  both  David 
Dudley  Field  and  Charles  O'Connor,  and  now  both  Judge 
Barnard  of  the  State  and  Judge  Blatchford  of  the  United 
States  Court  back  up  and  help  on  his  proceedings." 

The  alleged  indifference  of  the  New  York  city  authori- 
ties to  the  incarceration  of  "  Samuel  Bowles,  Esq.,  of 
Springfield,  Mass. ,"  was  not,  you  will  see,  entirely  unjust- 
ifiable. Culpable  as  I  am  in  selling  "silks,  poplins  and 
velvets  by  the  j'ard,"  the  generous  nature  of  "  Samuel 
Bowles,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,"  is  not  finally  and 
utterly  turned  against  me  until  ho  has  ascertained  that  I 
am  guilty  of  having  a  father  who  is  unhappily  an  inmate 
of  a  lunatic  asylum.  This  sours  all  the  milk  of  human 
kindness  in  the  breast  of  the  Springfield  journalist,  and 
ho  prophetically  consigns  me  to  a  "  mad  house  or  state 
prison."  Under  the  circumstances,  Messrs.  Editors,  don't 
you  think  I  had  cause  to  feel  vexed  with  "Samuel 
Bowles,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  Mass.  "  ?  In  order  to  protect 
my  rights  I  appealed-  to  the  law,  which  is  the  highest 
expression  of  human  wisdom  for  the  good  government  of 


lOo  SMALL-BEER   EDITOR*. 

nmnkind.  If  any  error  has  been  committed,  those  who 
made  the  law  committed  it.  I  regret  that  the  wife  of 
"Samuel  Bowles,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  Mass."  was  dis- 
turbed or  even  annoyed  by  her  husband's  temporary  ab- 
sence. As  for  the  sympathy  of  the  sycophantic  horde  of 
office  seekers  and  small-beer  editors,  who  clamored  around, 
the  jail  gates  for  their  comrade's  release,  their  abuse  Z 
expected  and  am,  indifferent  to.  Mr.  Bowles  proposed  the- 
game  himself  and  I  bowled  him  over  the  first  innings.  L 
think  it  will  be  generally  conceded  that  I  have  as  much 
right  to  defend  my  personal  character  as  any  newspaper' 
has  to  attack  it-  At  all  events  I  shall  do  so  with  the  most 
unflinching  determination  until  it  is  proven  to  the  con- 
trary. Mr.  Bowles  need  not  fear  but  that  I  will  bring: 
him  to  trial  before  a  judicial  tribunal,  and  then  "let 
justice  be  done  though  the  heavens  fall,"  and  these  are  a, 
few  of  the  reasons,  Messrs.  Editors,  why  I  arrested  and 
locked  up  "Samuel  Bowles,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  Mass." 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  FISK,  JB. 

This  letter  needs  no  comment.  The  peculiar  notions; 
which  the  writer  entertains  as  to  the  duty  of  "  New  York 
city  officials,"  his  interpretation  aad  application  of  "  law,'* 
as  well  as  some  of  the  things  which  give  him  pleasure  and 
which  he  thinks  very  "smart,"  are  perfectly  apparent. 
The  letter  is  a  faithful  photograph  of  the  man.  It  is- 
evident  from  his  own  words  that  he  was  stung,  not  by 
what  he  quotes  in  his  affidavits  and  makes  the  ground  of 
his  complaint,  and  that  he  cared  not  a  straw  for  its  effect 
upon  his  railroad,  but  that  the  personalities  inflicted  the 


REPUBLICAN    SCTTBBILITT.  169 

wound  and  that  Mr.  Fisk  sought  not  "justice**  at  the 
hands  of  "the  law,"  but  revenge.  When  he  had  kept 
Mr.  Bowles  in  jail  over  night  he  was  quite  satisfied,  felt 
bis  "personal  character  "  amply  defended,  and  despite  the 
braggart  conclusion  of  his  letter  nothing  more  ever  came 
of  the  suit.  He  had  previously  commenced  a  suit  for  libel 
against  Mr.  Bowles  in  the  Massachusetts  Courts,  putting 
the  damage  at  $50,000.  The  sudden  discontinuance  of 
this  suit  and  the  instantaneous  bringing  another  ia  New 
York  and  spiriting  Mr.  Bowles  into  jail  makes  his  real 
purpose  manifest  and  shows  how  little  he  <sared  to  "  let 
justice  be  done." 

The  article  in  the  Republiccm  was  written  in  the  cheap 
•sensational  style  which  has  largely  characterized  the 
columns  of  that  paper,  and,  in  parts  at  least,  was  utterly 
reckless  of  the  truth  and  of  private  feelings  and  disgust- 
ingly coarse  and  vulgar.  The  paragraph  which  undoubt- 
edly did  most  to  excite  Mr.  Fisk's  desire  for  revenge,  and 
justly,  was  that  running : 

"  The  appellation  of  '  fat,  fair  and  forty,'  so  often  ap- 
plied to  well  preserved  women,  belongs  peculiarly  to  him. 
He  is  almost  as  broad  as  he  is  high,  and  so  round  that  he 
rolls  rather  than  walks.  But  his  nervous  energy  is 
stimulated  rather  than  deadened  by  his  fat  which  gives 
indeed  a  momentum  to  his  mental  movement  and  his 
personal  influence." 

This  is  grossly  and  scurrilously  false,  in  the  first  place, 
and  in  the  second,  were  it  true,  it  would  be  none  the  less 
unjustifiable,  mean,  coarse  and  unworthy  a  place  in  any 


170  COSTBADICTIOTTS. 

paper  making  the  slightest  claim  to  decency.  Again  it 
proceeds :  "  Yankee  of  course,  and  Vermonter  at  that,  and 
a  peddler  to  boot,  do  we  not  tell  the  whole  secret  of  his 
life  ?"  A  sneer  at  th«  people  probably  constituting  nine- 
teen-twentieths  of  the  Republican's  patrons,  a  special  fling 
at  Yermonters  as  of  eminence  in  the  contemptible,  the 
climax  capped  with  the  sneer  "  a  peddler  to  boot,"  and 
yet  Mr.  Bowles  says,  "  there  is  nothing  in  it  that  ridiculed 
Mr.  disk's  previous  occupation."  But  Mr.  Bowles  has 
shown  the  worth  of  his  opinion  on  tho  subject  by  giving 
two  of  an  almost  exactly  opposite  character. 

In  one  place  he  has  said  "  there  is  a  rolicking  impu- 
dence in  the  style  of  the  article;  but  how  could  the 
subject  be  treated  sympathetically  in  any  other  way  ? 
You  might  as  well  paint  a  red  rose  with  white  coloring  as 
to  portray  Mr.  Fisk's  character  in  any  other  than  tho 
style  used."  In  another  place  he  has  said  it  Was  "  a 
friendly  warning  ...  to  husband  tho  resources  of  his 
health  .  .  .  and  to  dedicate  his  energies  to  better  and 
more  legitimate  purposes." 

The  journalist  that  prostitutes  his  position  and  panders 
to  the  morbid  taste  for  sensation  in  order  to  secure  a 
large  circulation  for  his  paper,  deserves  to  be  ranked  with 
the  publisher  of  obscene  literature.  He  is  oven  meaner, 
for  he  does  more  to  corrupt  public  taste  and  makes  a 
pretence  to  decency  while  engaged  in  the  filthiest  work 
for  gain.  Tho  extent  to  which  private  rights  and  feelings 
are  outraged  in  this  country,  in  onler  that  papers,  claim- 


BETEJfGB   SATED.  171 

ing,  like  the  Republican,  to  l>e  decent,  may  make  their 
columns  "  racy,"  has  grown  to  bo  almost  insufferable,  and 
had  Mr.  Fisk  pushed  his  suit  for  libel  in  a  proper  way 
and  succeeded  in  mulcting  Mr.  Bowles  in  a  heavy  sum,  as 
ho  richly  deserved,  nearly  every  ono  would  have  rejoiced 
and  thanked  him  for  doing  a  good  service  to  the  public. 
But  proceeding  by  an  outrage  upon  the  law,  abandoning 
all  punishment  and  seeming  satisfied  after  securing  the 
offender  in  jail  a  few  hours  by  means  of  a  conspiracy,  was 
too  sudden  a  passage  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous 
and  for  the  moment  stamped  as  a  hero  and  martyr  a  man 
whose  legal  incarceration  would  have  been  well  deserved. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

"  t  "••"Yrr-.'V!   ,--•'•  -  p"i.  *:j-:>mdri-;;->i[  -..x 

THE   IttPEESSABIO THEATRICALS A  MARBLB  PALACE — PRINCE 

ERIE. 

-^ 

Having  achieved  all  the  notorieiy  possible  in  railroad 
management  by  the  close  of  1868,  Mr.  Fisk  suddenly 
blossomed  into  an  entirely  new  role  before  the  New  York 
public  with  the  opening  of  1869,  becoming  all  at  once  the 
Maecenas  of  the  stage.  It  has  been  a  favorite  pastime  of 
royalty  in  all  ages  to  dally  with  the  children  of  Melpom- 
ene, Thalia  or  Terpsichore,  according  to  taste  and  temper- 
ament. Mr.  Fisk's  financial  resources  being  now  quite 
royal,  he  became  a  patron  of  histrionic  art  as  a  means  of 
using  a  portion  of  his  revenue  in  a  good  cause  at  the  same 
time  that  it  yielded  him  much  amusement  and.  recreation. 
And  this  he  did  on  a  scale  quite  worthy  the  most  illustri- 
ous of  his  royal  prototypes  and  in  a  style  of  grandeur  that 
many  a  prince  might  envy.  First  he  purchased  Pike's 
Opera  House,  a  grand  new  marble  palace  at  the  corner  of 
23d  Street  and  8th  Avenue,  the  name  being  at  once 
changed  to  "The  Grand  Opera  House"  on  his  coming 
into  possession.  lie  next  almost  entirely  rebuilt  what  is 


FRENCH  OPERA  AND  SHAKSPEAEB.          173 

now  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  in  23d  Street,  making  it 
one  of  the  most  elegant  little  theatres  in  the  world.  In 
May  he  leased  the  Academy  of  Music,  in  14th  Street,  and 
\vas  thus  operating  all  at  one  time,  the  three  finest  places 
of  amusement  in  New  York.  He  prepared  entertain- 
ments at  each  of  the  three  establishments  without  tho 
slightest  regard  to  expense,  determined  on  having  every 
detail  and  appointment  perfect.  Thirty  thousand  dollars 
and  more  was  said  to  have  been  expended  in  preparing 
one  piece  alone  for  the  stage.  But  he  soon  became  con- 
scious of  the  quicksands  upon  which  all  impressarioa 
seem. fated  to  stand  in  this  country.  The  public  did  not 
sustain  him  in  his  unsparing  outlay  for  their  entertain- 
ment and  he  soon  found  himself  losiifg  heavily  at  each  of 
his  three  theatres.  When  he  came  into  possession  of 
Pike's  Opera  House,  Trench  Comic  Opera  was  on  the 
boards  there,  and  had  been  a  very  unprofitable  venture 
for  his  predecessor.  This  he  continued  for  a  time,  but 
finding  it  could  not  be  made  to  pay,  he  closed  the  estab- 
lishment for  some  changes  and  to  prepare  for  the  presen- 
tation of  Shakspeare's  grand  play  of  "The  Tempest." 
Elaborate  preparations  were  made  for  the  revival  of  this 
piece  which  had  been  long  absent  from  the  New  York 
boards,  and  when  the  curtain  again  rose  upon  an  audience 
in  tho  Grand  Opera  House  they  were  dazzled  with  the 
new  hplendors  and  beautiful  decorations  and  frescoes 
which  had  completely  transformed  tho  appearance  of  the 
place  A.nd  the  change  behind  the  scenes  had  been  no 


174  THB   ACADEMY   OP   JHTSIO   AHD    "  LUBLINE." 

less  complete,  every  appointment  being  now  of  the  most 
perfect  style.  But  this  play,  too,  failed  to  meet  the  reward 
which  the  efforts  expended  in  its  presentation  merited  and 
was  withdrawn  after  a  brief  unprosperous  season. 

The  little  "  Boudoir  Theatre  "  in  24th  Street,  had  been 
built  for  Mr.  John  Brougham,  the  well-known  actor  and 
playwright  and  was  called  after  him  "  Brougham's  The- 
atre." But  ho  had  not  been  installed  in  his  elegant  house 
long  ere  Mr.  Fist's  hearty  and  generous  admiration  for 
him.  waned  and  then  changed  into  an  irreconcilable  un- 
pleasantness. Mr.  xJrougham's  management  failed  of  the 
anticipated  success,  and  after  two  unsuccessful  months  he 
was  turned  out  of  his  beautiful  possession  rather  uncere- 
moniously, and  its  iHime  was  changed  to  the  "  Fifth  Ave- 
nue Theatre."  The  French  Opera  which  had  been  with- 
drawn from  the  Grand  Opera  House  was  given  another 
trial  here,  but  with  a  success  equally  lacking  in  encourage- 
ment for  its  long  continuance. 

At  the  Academy  of  Music  the  celebrated  Opera  of 
"Lurline"  was  presented  after  the  most  expensive  prepa- 
rations, being  rendered  in  English  and  Italian  on  alter- 
nate nights.  But  the  result  was  so  discouraging  that 
after  a  run  of  two  weeks  it  had  to  be  withdrawn  and  the 
doors  closed,  about  $20,000  having  been  lost  in  the  enter- 
prise. 

His  first  season  of  theatrical  experience  had  been  one 
of  expensive  schooling  and  amusement  to  him.  But 
disastrous  as  each  venture  had  been  pecuniarily,  he  was 


THE   TWELVE   TEMFEATIOSS.  175 

not  discouraged  or  crippled.  Though  Any  other  manager 
•would  most  likely  have  been  ruined  financially  by  the 
losses  incurred  at  either  of  the  places,  Mr.  Fisk  stood  up 
under  them  all  without  a  nerve  shaken  and  whiffed  his 
cigar  as  calmly  as  though  all  had  gone  prosperously.  He, 
however,  did  not  care  to  go  over  the  same  ground  again 
the  following  season.  The  lease  of  the  Academy  of  Music 
was  not  renewed,  and  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre  was 
leased  and  passed  out  of  Mr.  Fisk's  personal  supervision. 
But  he  still  retained  control  of  the  Grand  Opera  House, 
and  concentrated  all  his  attention  in  the  theatrical  lice  to 
this  one  place.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  his  fortune  does  not 
still  continue  to  grow  worse  rather  than  better  from  this 
enterprise.  One  piece  alone  has  had  any  lasting  success 
and  long  run  with  him.  "  The  Twelve  Temptations  "  was 
brought  out  the  second  winter  of  his  management  and 
had  a  long  run  to  crowded  houses  and  must  have  been  a 
fine  pecuniary  success.  It  was  a  piece  in  the  spectacular, 
"  Black  Crook  "  style,  depending  largely  upon  the  ballet 
and  the  exhibition  of  the  charms  of  the  female  form  for 
its  attraction.  New  attractions  were  added  from  time  to 
time,  and  to  keep  up  the  interest  at  the  close  a  corps  of 
beautiful  blondes  alternated  with  one  of  ravishing 
brunettes  from  night  to  night. 

But  Mr.  Fisk  has  shown  his  strongest  admiration  for 
theatrical  amusement  to  be  in  Opera  Bouffe.  This  seems 
to  be  his  ideal  of  fun  and  fine  music  combined  and  he  has 
manifested  the  most  unflinching  determination  to  bring 


176  OPERA   BOITFFE. 

the  public  to  Ms  taste  and  way  of  thinking.  It  has 
formed  the  continuous  programme  at  his  Grand  Opera 
House  the  past  season  and  has  been  given,  as  is  every- 
thing that  he  presents,  with  all  the  attractions  that  an 
unstinted  expenditure  of  money  could  produce.  He  sent 
Max  Maretzek,  the  most  experienced  opera  manager  in 
the  country,  to  Europe  as  his  special  agent  to  import  a 
first-class  company  for  his  theatre,  and  left  nothing  undone 
to  present  French  Opera  to  the  citizens  of  New  York  in 
its  most  attractive  guise.  To  lend  variety  and  increase 
the  charms,  three  different  leading  artists  were  introduced 
to  sustain  a  single  part,  each  carrying  it  through  one  act. 
Almost  without  regard  lo  pecuniary  results,  he  has  mani- 
fested the  most  persistent  determination  to  give  Opera 
Bouffe  a  firm  hold  upon  New  Yorkers  as  it  had  upon 
Parisians.  The  effort  has  not  been  so  far  successful  that 
any  other  manager  could  present  it  in  New  York  without 
speedily  becoming  bankrupt. 

Mr.  Fisk  started  in  his  theatrical  career  by  securing 
the  ablest  and  most  experienced  managers  in  the  country 
to  direct  his  establishments,  and  this  would  seem  to  be 
the  course  of  wisdom  and  prudence ;  but  somehow  his 
relations  soon  proved  unpleasant  and  incompatible  with 
all  of  them.  Brougham,  Bergfeldt,  Tayleure,  and 
Maretzek,  all  eminently  first  class  men  in  their  lines, 
came  and  passed  in  quick  succession  in  the  management 
of  his  various  enterprises  on  the  stage.  It  is  almost  an 
axiom  that  two  first  class  men  can  never  work  advan- 


INCOMPATIBILITIES.  177 

tageously  together  in  the  head  management  of  any 
enterprise,  a  truth  that  has  been  well  illustrated  here. 
All  these  men  employed  by  Mr.  Fisk  were  men  of  marked 
ability,  excellent  judgment  and  taste  and  high  culture  in 
their  calling,  and  of.  a  mental  cast  and  self-respect  that 
could  yield  no  servile  or  sycophantic  deference  to  the 
notions  of  Mr.  Fisk  in  matters  pertaining  to  their  pro- 
fession, while  he  is  a  man  whose  individuality  is  so 
marked  and  positive  as  to  make  harmony  impossible  un- 
less he  is  yielded  to,  hence  irreconcilable  differences  soon 
arose,  and,  under  the  law  that  obtains  in  this  age  and 
country,  the  taste,  judgment  and  preference  of  the  man 
holding  the  purse  strings  prevailed  over  the  men  of  cul- 
ture and  education  and  the  latter  retired  leaving  Mr.  Fisk 
to  carry  out  his  own  peculiar  notions.  The  treatment  of 
Mr.  Brougham  was  such  as  might  well  have  provoked  a 
personal  encounter  had  that  gentlemen  been  as  impulsive 
and  as  indifferent  to  a  "  scene  "  as  Mr.  Fisk,  but  being  a 
man  with  the  passions  trained  into  a  better  control  and 
knowing  the  quietest  way  was  the  best  in  such  circum- 
stances, their  connection  ended  without  blows.  But  the 
more  irascible  Maretzek  was  destined  to  a  bellicose  close 
of  relations  with  his  impulsive  and  blunt  patron.  The 
Opera  Bouffe  company  that  had  been  imported  from 
Europe  for  the  Grand  Opera  House  were  in  rehearsal  for 
their  first  appearance  at  the  same  time  that  Nilsson  ar- 
rived. The  company  was  in  charge  of  Maretzek  at  the 
rehearsals,  and  as  he  had  been  sent  abroad  to  select  it, 


178  1LA.RF.TZEI, 

the  tacit  understanding  was  that  he  would  be  the  con- 
ductor at  the  Grand  Opera  House  for  the  season ;  but  Mr. 
Fisk  had  failed  to  enter  into  any  written  agreement  ia 
the  matter  and  held  Maretzek  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  his 
pleasure  and  caprice — an  insecurity  which  the  veteran 
impressario  did  not  at  all  relish.  Feeling  that  nothing 
was  secure  as  to  hia  position  with  Mr.  Fisk,  ho  was 
naturally  disinclined  to  neglect  any  other  opportunity 
that  ho  might  have  and  therefore  accepted  a  proposition 
to  act  as  conductor  at  the  first  Nilsson  concert  Now,  Mr. 
Fisk  looked  upon  the  Nilsson  company  as  an  "opposition 
show  "  to  his  and  was  for  that  reason  somewhat  jealous  of 
it,  and  hearing  that  his  man  Max  was  to  conduct  on  the 
occasion  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  Swedish  songstress 
he  wrote  a  note  ordering  him  not  to  do  so.  Mr.  Fisk  was 
.  present  on  the  opening  night  of  the  "opposition  show" 
and  his  temper  was  somewhat  ruffled  when  the  grand 
eiitree  revealed  to  his  sight  his  man  Max  coming  forward 
in  full  dress,  baton  in  hand  and  making  his  bow  as  con- 
ductor in  defiance  of  the  imperial  note  of  warning.  De- 
spite the  purifying  influence  of  the  sublime  emotions 
awakened  by  the  echo  of  another  world  that  sounded  in 
the  unearthly  strains  of  the  wonderful  songstress  and  the 
elevation  far  above  all  things  earthly  to  which  she  lifted 
her  auditors,  the  displeasure  of  Mr.  Fisk  excited  by  the 
act  of  disobedience  was  softened  only  for  the  moment,  if 
at  all.  On  reaching  the  Grand  Opera  House  the  next 
morning  he  gave  orders  that  if  Maretzek  came  to  conduct 


PUTTIKG  ON  THE  QLOTB8.  179 

the  rehearsal  that  day,  word  should  bo  brought  him 
immediately.  Maretzek  camo  and  his  arrival  was  an- 
nounced as  directed.  Mr.  Fisk  hastened  down  into  the 
theatre  and  approached  the  conductor's  stand  with  an 
expression  that  meant  "bxisiness"  on  his  countenance. 
He  proceeded  at  once  to  call  Max  to  account  for  disobey- 
ing the  note  and  conducting  an  "  opposition  show."  Max 
attempted  to  explain,  but  Mr.  Fisk  know  the  whole  story, 
refused  to  bo  appeased  and  instead  of  waiting  to  hear  the 
explanation,  proceeded  to  pronounce  Maretzek  a  "swind- 
ler," "  thief,"  "  liar,"  and  other  kindred  epithets.  This 
was  more  than  Max  could  endure  and  he  immediately 
descended  from  his  stand  and  levelled  a  powerful  blow  at 
Mr.  Fisk's  nose.  The  latter  parried  and  dodged  in  such  a 
way  that  the  blow  did  no  serious  damage,  and  then  the 
two  closed  in  a  fierce  struggle  and  soon  went  down,  Fisk 
coming  on  top.  The  shrieks  and  fright  of  the  assembled 
corps  de  ballet  and  prime  donne  would  have  won  them 
great  credit  at  an  evening  performance,  and  in  fact  it  is 
doubtful  if  the  whole  scene  would  not  have  excelled  in 
interest  anything  that  has  ever  been  put  upon  the  Grand 
Opera  House  boards,  could  it  have  taken  place  before  an 
audience  in  the  evening.  When  some  of  the  bystander* 
recovered  sufficient  presence  of  mind  to  separate  the  com- 
batants it  was  found  that  no  great  damage  had  been  done 
beyond  a  serious  soiling  of  Mr.  Fisk's  tidy  toilet  and  at- 
tire and  the  making  of  a  slightly  black  eye  for  Maretzek. 
Beyond  affording  a  racy  topic  for  the  newspapws  for  two 


180          TEOUBLE  WITH   fEIME  DONNB. 

or  three  days,  and  a  suit  commenced  or  threatened  by 
each  of  the  parties,  but  of  which  nothing  ever  came,  the 
matter  died  away  like  its  many  predecessors  and  Mr. 
Fisk's  connection  with  the  last  of  his  distinguished  mana- 
gers ended. 

With  his  Opera  Bouffe  prime  donne,  too,  Mr.  Fisk 
seems  not  to  get  on  at  all  well.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
season  M'lles.  Montaland  and  Silly,  the  two  leading  char- 
acters whom  Maretzek  had  brought  out,  seemed  to  please 
Mr.  Fisk  not  a  little,  and  they  in  turn  seemed  dazzled  by 
the  grandeur  of  the  great  impressario,  and  ail  went 
"  merry  as  a  marriage  bell  "  for  a  time.  Ere  long,  how- 
ever, disagreements  and  unpleasant  relations  grew  up, 
Montaland  and  Silly  disappeared  from  the  Grand  Opera 
House  boards  and  Aim6o  was  summoned  from  London  by 
telegram.  She  at  once  became  a  great  favorite  with  the 
frequenters  of  Opera  Boufie  and  everything  went  smoothly 
till  the  close  of  the  season  at  the  Grand  Opera  House. 
When  the  company  started  on  a  summer  tour,  however, 
Aimee  became  indignant  at  some  treatment  of  her  in  the 
matter  of  her  salary,  and  the  difficulty  grew  so  great  that 
she  suddenly  refused  to  sing  any  more  in  the  performances 
going  on  in  Boston  and  left  the  company  in  disgust. 

-Perhaps  Mr.  Fisk  would  have  been  obliged  to  close 
his  last  theatre  and  withdraw  from  theatrical  business 
altogether  were  it  not  that  the  Grand  Opera  House  has 
been  otherwise  turned  to  such  good  account  that  he  is  not 
entailed  with  much  if  any  expense  for  the  rent  of  the 


HIS    PKESKSCE    CHAMBEK.  181 

theatre.  He  paid  $820,000  for  the  edifice.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1869  the  second  floor  was  most  sumptuously  fitted 
up  and  became  the  offices  of  the  Erie  Bail-way.  It  is 
unequalled  in  elegance  by  any  building  in  the  world  used 
for  a  similar  purpose.  The  doors  are  of  massive,  ele- 
gantly carved  black  walnut,  all  the  offices  are  fitted  up 
and  furnished  in  black  walnut  and  the  most  expensive 
glass,  and  over  the  door  of  each  office  is  a  silver  plate 
sign  indicating  the  department.  On  the  opposite  side 
from  the  main  entrance  door  is  an  ante-room  where  stand 
several  ushers  preventing  further  admission  without  first 
sending  in  your  card  or  stating  your  business  in  advance 
and  getting  permission.  Behind  the  door  opening  from 
the  ante-room  into  the  presence-chamber  stands  a  large 
screen,  so  that  when  the  door  opens  nothing  but  a  red 
curtain  can  be  seen.  Should  your  card  or  business  be 
looked  upon  favorably  and  obtain  you  permission  to 
enter,  the  usher  will  bow  you  through  the  door,  past  the 
screen,  and  there,  behind  a  richly  carved  black  walnut 
desk  of  mammoth  size,  in  a  luxurious  chair,  eita  James 
Fisk,  Jr.,  on  his  throne.  About  him  are  numerous 
clerks,  messengers  and  lackeys  doing  his  bidding  and 
laughing  at  his  humor,  which  ho  keeps  constantly  flowing 
in  the  inidst  of  all  his  business.  Within  his  reach  are 
springs  sending  bignals  to  all  parts  of  the  building,  so  that 
every  employe  in  the  establishment  can  be  summoned  to 
him  instantly  in  case  of  necessity.  All  the  ceilings  are 
richly  frescoed,  that  in  the  main  room  being  an  elegant 


182 


symbolic  design  having  at  the  four  sides  the  words  Netr 
York,  San  Francisco,  Chicago,  St.  Louis.  On  tho  floor 
above  is  a  grand  banqueting  room  fitted  up  in  tho  samo 
stylo  of  splendor,  where  sumptuous  entertainments  are 
occasionally  given.  Tho  Erie  Railway  pays  $75,000  rent 
for  tho  apartments  occupied  for  its  offices,  and  in  addition 
to  this  is  tho  rent  of  tho  stores  on  tho  ground  floor  and 
some  other  property  included  in  the  purchase — the  whole 
making  tho  investment  a  very  profitable  ono  aside  from 
tho  theatre  and  the  apartments  appropriated  to  the 
owner's  private  uso,  Mr.  Fisk's  residence  is  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  on  23d  Street,  which  makes  all  his 
arrangements  very  complete.  Here,  surrounded  by  all 
tho  luxury  which  his  tasto  and  wealth  can  devise 
ho  leads  a  much  more  lordly  and  imperial  life  than  many 
a  modern  Princo,  and  in  bis  sumptuous  halls  may  well  be 
called"  Prince  Erie." 


CHAPTER  X. 

A.  LIOX   AGAIX METAMORPHOSIS AT  THE  BOSTON  PEACE  JUBI- 
LEE  A   FLOATING   PALACE STTNDAT   IMPS   XTP   THE   HUDSO1T 

THE    ADMITIAL. 

« 

Through  all  the  varied  phases  of  his  life  since  leaving 
his  peddling  business  at  Brattleboro  Mr  Fisk  had  never 
held  any  position  which  compelled  people  to  look  at  him 
daily  in  all  his  splendors  with  anything  like  the  attention 
ho  attracted  in  that  first  stage  of  his  career.  But  he  had 
now  achieved  a  notoriety  so  great  that  the  gay  throng  of 
tho  city  would  gaze  at  him  as  the  country  people  once  had 
done,  were  opportunity  offered.  Tho  summer  of  1869  gave 
the  opportunity  and  he  enjoyed  all  tho  gratification  in  this 
respect  that  could  be  desired.  Tho  Narraganset  Steam- 
ship Company  was  formed  this  season.  Mr.  Fisk  became 
its  president  and  thereby  came  into  control  of  tho  finest 
lino  of  steamers  running  on  Long  Island  Sound.  The  two 
boats,  Providence  and  Bristol,  were  thoroughly  over- 
hauled, renovated,  fitted  up  in  tho  most  luxuriant  style, 
refurnished  with  elegant  carpets,  upholstering,  bronzes 
and  general  fixtures.  The  dining  rooms  were  conducted 
on  the  *4  la  carte,  or  European,  phin  and  supplied  all  the 


184  A.    LION   ONCE   MOKE, 

accommodations  and  luxuries  of  a  first-class  hotel.  To  add 
to  the  pleasure  of  the  lovely  ride  up  the  Sound,  a  fine 
band  of  music  accompanies  each  steamer  and  delights 
the  passengers  with  sweet  strains  of  choice  music  through 
the  first  four  hours  of  the  trip.  This  novel  feature  adds 
much  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  journey  and  is  highly  ap- 
preciated by  the  public. 'It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
famous  North  River  line  has  not  followed  the  innovation. 
Everything  objectionable  under  the  former  management 
disappeared  and  this  became  one  of  the  most  delightful 
and  wholly  enjoyable  trips  to  be  had  anywhere  %i  the 
world. 

It  was  in  these  steamers  that  Mr.  Fisk  seemed  to  take 
his  special  pride  that  summer,  as  he  justly  might.  Each 
afternoon,  a  half  hour  or  so  before  it  was  time  for  the 
steamer  to  start,  he  came  upon  the  pier,  in  a  "  nobby  " 
citizen's  suit,  disappeared  in  some  of  the  company's  offices 
and  soon  emerged  again  in  a  full  Admiral's  uniform  of  the 
finest  make.  In  this  attire,  which  was  quite  becoming  to 
him,  he  took  his  place  at  the  gangway,  where  he  must  be 
seen  by  all  who  entered.  His  appearance  the  first  few 
evenings  created  a  grand  sensation.  The  gay  company 
that  were  promenading  the  decks  and  saloons,  admiring 
the  rich  gilding,  furniture,  bronzes  and  mirrors,  and  listen- 
ing to  the  music,  suddenly  turned  all  their  attention  upon 
the  man  who  had  achieved  so  much  notoriety,  who  had 
furnished  the  pleasures  they  were  then  enjoying  and  who 
dictated  orders  to  the  noble  steamer  and  the  crew.  All 


OF   EABLT   DELIGHTS.  185 


crowded  around  to  get  a  view  of  the  man  they  had  heard 
so  much  about  of  late.  Young  ladies  whispered  to  each 
other  and  turned  to  gaze  at  him  after  they  passed  in  ; 
fathers  pointed  him  out  to  their  wives  and  children,  and 
no  one  wished  to  miss  a  sight  of  him.  There,  in  his  ele- 
gant uniform,  with  the  huge  diamond  sparkling  in  his 
shirt  bosom,  stood  the  man  who  had  trapped  both  Van- 
derbilt  and  Drew,  who  had  been  the  shield  and  sword  of 
the  Erie  exiles  in  "Fort  Taylor,"  who  had  made  all  Wall 
Street  howl  under  his  manipulations,  who  had  purchased 
the  Grand  Opera  House,  built  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre 
and  leased  the  Academy  of  Music  —  all  within  one  short 
year.  He  was  now  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes  and  created 
the  same  sensation  among  the  gaily  dressed  denizens  of  the 
city  as  he  had  formerly  done  among  rustic  villagers.  The 
situation  was  one  which  he  evidently  enjoyed  to  the  full, 
though  he  seemed  sublimely  unconscious  of  the  curiosity 
directed  to  him,  and  issued  his  orders  and  directions  as 
rapidly  and  imperatively  as  though  lie  were  wholly  ab- 
sorbed in  his  duties.  Precisely  on  the  moment  announced 
for  starting,  he  gave  the  command  and  the  elegant 
steamer  put  out  into  the  stream  with  her  heavy  load  of 
passengers  crowding  her  decks,  music  playing,  flags 
flying,  all  her  crew  in  uniform,  each  man  having  a  badge 
on  his  cap  showing  his  office  and  duty.  It  was  a  moment 
that  was  a  full  renewal  of  the  feeling  of  pride  which  the 
young  peddler  felt  on  the  morning  when  he  first  mounted 
his  brilliant  new  cart  and  dashed  out  of  Brattleboro  witk 


100  i    SKA    VYHPH. 

his  four-in-hand  and  followers.  The  Admiral  remained 
on  board  till  the  steamer  was  well  out  in  the  bay  or 
hauled  round  into  the  East  Eiver.  Here  ho  was  met  by 
a  small  tug  boat  that  came  out  to  bear  him  back  to  the 
city.  As  he  parted  from  the  steamer  that  was  now  his 
pride,  the  company  crowded  around  for  another  glimpse 
of  him  and  the  officers  gave  their  commander  a  parting 
salute. 

The  sensation  and  dramatic  effect  of  Mr.  Fisk's  arrival 
upon  the  pier  and  casting  off  from  the  steamer  upon  the 
tug,  was  greatly  intensified  the  first  few  evenings  by  his 
being  accompanied  by  his  female  favorite  of  tho  hour, 
attired  like  himself  in  naval  style — a  jacket  of  navy  blue 
with  gilt  buttons  and  epaulettes,  a  hat  in  the  sailor  style, 
and  decked  out  in  all  matters  of  detail  in  a  manner  evi- 
dently indicating  a  careful  consultation  of  tho  Admiral's 
taste. 

The  custom  of  going  out  into  the  stream  with  the 
departing  steamer  was  not  continued  long.  It  necessi- 
tated a  stop  and  some  inconvenience,  and  was  therefore 
discontinued  as  soon  as  the  novelty  and  glory  of  the  cer- 
emony had  worn  away.  Thereafter  Mr.  Fisk  contented 
himself  with  giving  and  receiving  tho  parting  salute  as 
tho  steamer  put  out  from  the  pier.  This  formality  over, 
he  again  disappeared  in  tho  offices  of  tho  company  and 
soon  came  out  metamorphosed  in  a  surprisingly  short 
time  from  a  full-blown  Admiral  into  a  private  citizen 
dressed  in  the  extreme  of  fashion. 


JIM."  187 


It  iras  in  June  of  this  year  that  the  great  Peace  Ju- 

bilee took  placo  in  Boston.  President  Grant  went  on  to 
attend  and  when  ho  arrived  in  New  York  the  best 
accommodations  of  Mr.  Fist's  steamers  wore  placed  at  his 
disposal  and  accepted.  The  Admiral  improved  this  oppor- 
tunity to  have  a  little  familiar  conversation  -with  tho 
President.  Jay  Gould  and  several  others  of  this  genus 
•were  also  passengers  that  night  and  sought  to  make 
themselves  as  intimate  as  might  be  with  tho  chief  magis- 
trate of  the  nation.  Tho  Admiral,  in  full  uniform,  oven 
accompanied  the  President  to  tho  Coliseum,  tho  placo  in 
which  tho  jubilee  was  held,  and  for  simplo  sensation  his 
presence  on  that  occasion  quite  surpassed  that  of  General 
Grant.  It  was  this  episode  that  won  for  him  the  title  of 
"Jim  Jubilee." 

This  lino  of  steamers  was  his  plaything  for  the  season 
of  1869,  but  of  course  it  grow  stale,  lacking  in  novelty  and 
excitement,  by  tho  end  of  tho  summer,  and  something  now 
must  bo  had.  "When  tho  season  of  1870  opened  ho  com- 
pletely eclipsed  all  his  previous  achievements  in  the 
steamboat  lino  by  adding  tho  "  Plymouth  Rock  "  to  his 
flotilla.  This  new  steamer  is  345  feet  long  and  of  up- 
wards of  5,000  tuns  burden.  She  had  been  almost  com- 
pletely rebuilt  to  his  order  during  the  'winter.  She  con- 
tains th'rty-two  suites  of  apartments  that  rival  New 
York's  finest  hotel  for  elegance  and  comfort.  Tho  res- 
taurant dining-room  is  equally  marvellous  for  tho  charac- 
ter of  its  supplies  and  cuisine.  The  bar-room  is  of  * 


188  A    FLOATING    PALACE. 

size  and  elegance  rarely  equalled  in  any  establishment  on 
terra  firma,  being  extensively  finished  in  white  marble, 
•with  large  mirrors  and  all  the  usual  appurtenances  in  the 
most  improved  style.  Nothing  so  gorgeous  and  extensive 
was  ever  before  attempted  in  the  way  of  a  steamer.  The 
furniture  throughout  is  of  the  richest  and  most  elegant 
style,  the  gilding,  embellishments,  bronzes,  etc.,  surpass- 
ing in  profusion  and  luxuriance  anything  to  be  met  with 
by  a  traveller  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  While  walk- 
ing through  its  saloons  and  cabins  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  avoid  the  delusion  that  you  are  in  some  grand  hotel 
furnished  with  oriental  splendor.  In  fact  the  steamer 
was  intended  for  a  sort  of  floating  hotel.  She  was  spe- 
cially designed  to  accommodate  the  summer  travel  to 
Long  Branch — of  late  the  most  famous  of  our  seaside 
watering  .places.  She  runs  from  New  York  to  Sandy 
Hook,  and  was  designed  to  afford  first-class  accommoda- 
tions for  those  who  might  wish  to  go  on  board  in  the 
afternoon,  use  a  suite  of  apartments  for  dressing,  take 
dinner  on  board,  drive  to  the  hotels  to  any  ball  or  enter- 
tainment in  the  evening,  return  to  their  apartments  on  the 
steamer  to  sleep,  and  wake  up  in  New  York  next 
morning. 

v  This  grand  floating  palace  was  Mr.  Fisk's  new  sensa- 
tion for  the  season  of  1870.  On  Sundays  he  often  used 
her  for  a  pleasure  excursion  up  the  Hudson.  On  these 
occasions  she  was  crowded  by  people  seeking  a  day  of 
leisure  enjoyment,  and  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  a  greater 


SUNDAY    TRIPS   UP   1HE   HUDSON.  189 

combination  of  delightful  influences  and  pleasures  than 
that  afforded  by  this  palatial  steamer  gliding  up  the 
lovely  Hudson  on  a  beautiful  summer's  morning,  amid 
scenery  unsurpassed  in  grandeur  by  any  in  the  world, 
replete  with  the  historic  interest  that  clings  around  Wash- 
ington, Benedict  Arnold,  and  Andr6,  the  Palisades  and 
Highlands  echoing  the  strains  of  sweet  music  from  the 
band  on  board.  The  trip  was  to  Poughkeepsie,  75  miles, 
and  back.  On  these  excursions  Mr.  Fisk  was  present  in 
his  Admiral's  uniform,  smiling  blandly  upon  everybody 
and  playing  the  host  with  the  proverbial  good  nature  and 
affability  of  the  man  who  "  knows  how  to  keep  a  hotel." 

In  the  summer  of  1869,  when  the  Erie  offices  were 
moved  to  the  Grand  Opera  House,  Mr.  Fisk  also  estab- 
lished a  new  ferry  from  the  Erie  depot  in  Jersy  City  to 
23d  Street,  and  a  free  lino  of  omnibuses  from  the  ferry, 
past  the  Grand  Opera  House,  to  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel. 
The  two  boats  placed  upon  this  ferry  of  course  surpassed 
in  elegance  everything  used  on  any  of  the  other  ferries. 
They  are  named  "James  Fisk,  Jr.,"  and  "Jay  Gould" 
and  are  in  entire  keeping  with  the  rest  of  Admiral  Fisk's 
flotilla. 


CHAPTER  XL 

A.LBAXT    &    SCSQUEHAKNA     KAILUOAD    WAB — MB.     FISX     COM- 
MENCES  HIS   TWENTY-SIXTH"    BAID  AND   GETS   HUSTLED  DOWN 

STAIBS— orrosrxo  BECEIVEUS  AND  OPPOSING  JUDGES — THE 

TWO    TAETIES    IN    COLLISION A    EIOT THE   MILITIA  CALLED 

OUT THE   GOVEENOE  INTEBFEBES FLIGHT  TO  KEW  YOBK 

EEIE  CEAIEX. 

After  seventeen  years  of  desperate  stru^le  for  exist- 
ence, through,  repeated  discouragements  and  many  sus- 
pensions of  work  upon  its  construction,  the  Albany  & 
Susquehanna  Eailroad  was  finally  completed  in  January, 
18G9.  The  one  man  who  had  stood  by  it  and  worked 
unceasingly  for  it  from  the  beginning,  whoso  faith  and 
courage  had  not  faltered  under  the  seventeen  years  o£ 
trial  nor  slackened  in  tho  least  whilo  all  the  rest  of  its 
original  friends  and  many  new  relays  had  fallen  by  the 
way  and  abandoned  the  project,  tho  man  who  had  pushed 
it  through  all  its  discouragements  to  final  completion,  was 
Joseph  II.  Ramsey.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  but 
for  his  energy,  determination  and  perseverance,  the  road 
would  not  be  in  existence  to-day.  He  was  now  its 


STRUGGLING   FOE   EXISTENCE.  191 

•  • 

president.  The  road  runs  diagonally  across  the  State  of 
New  York  from  Albany  on  the  Hudson  to  Binghamton 
on  the  Susquehanna,  in  Broome  County.  Hero  it  meets 
the  Erie.  The  road  had  been  projected  and  built  as  a 
purely  local  enterprise  to  benefit  the  towns  through  which 
it  ran,  and  for  this  reason  it  had  received  some  aid  from 
tho  State  and  the  towns  along  the  lino  had  subscribed  for 
somo  of  the  stock.  In  its  later  stages  tho  Governor  had 
vetoed  all  bills  for  giving  it  further  assistance.  Many  of 
those  who  had  originally  subscribed  for  the  stock,  after 
paying  in  a  certain  per  cent,  of  their  subscription,  had 
failed  to  pay  tho  remainder  and  in  consequence  of  this 
failure  their  stock  was  declared  forfeited  to  the  company. 
Tho  subscribers  consented  to  this  forfeiture  and  seemed 
glad  to  got  rid  of  tho  stock  in  that  way.  It  was  by  using 
this  forfeited  stock  as  collateral  security  for  a  loan  that 
Mr.  Ramsey  had  obtained  funds  to  complete  tho  last 
section  of  tho  road.  It  was  against  tho  law  to  issue  stock 
at  less  than  par,  but  this  being  stock  that  had  been 
already  issued  and  forfeited,  it  was  deemed  legal  to 
re-issuo  it  for  less  than  par. 

But  as  soon  as  all  the  difficulties  wore  surmounted  and 
tho  road  was  finished,  it  was  found  to  be  of  great  value 
for  more  than  local  use.  If  run  in  connection  with  the 
Erie  road  it  formed  the  necessary  connecting  link  to 
render  that  road  a  rival  of  tho  New  York  Central  for  the 
through  business  between  New  England  and  the  West ; 
but  it  was  of  still  greater  value  in  affording  the  great 


192  DIVIDED   COUNCILS. 

•  • 

anthracite  coal  regions  of  Northeastern  Pennsylvania  a 
more  direct  communication  with  New  England  and  the 
country  north  from  Albany,  and  as  such  was  destined  to 
destroy  a  very  profitable  part  of  the  business  of  the 
branch  of  the  Erie  road  running  to  Nowburgh. 

As  is  always  the  case  when  an  energetic,  determined, 
persevering  man  pushes  a  great  enterprise  through  to 
success,  Mr.  Ramsey  had  made  some  opponents,  not  to 
say  enemies,  during  the  seventeen  years  of  determined 
perseverance,  and  now,  during  tho  first  year  of  its  through 
operation,  he  found  nearly  one  half  of  the  board  of 
directors  sullenly  opposed  to  him.  Ho  is  not  a  man  of 
half-way  measures,  or  entangling  compromises  #and  has 
no  taste  for  a  house  divided  against  itself ;  it  was  therefore 
distinctly  understood  that  at  the  next  election  either  ho  or 
his  opponents  must  go  out  and  an  entirely  harmonious 
board  be  elected.  Mr.  Ramsey's  opponents  well  knew 
what  the  result  of  such  a  contest  would  be  if  they  did  not 
secure  the  assistance  of  some  outside  power  much  stronger 
than  themselves,  and  therefore  invited  tho  Erie  road,  or 
Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould,  to  undertake  tho  battle  for  them. 
As  these  gentlemen  were  already  coveting  this  road  as 
a  great  prize  to  possess  in  connection  with  Eric,  they 
eagerly  accepted  the  invitation,  and  Mr.  Ramsey  suddenly 
found  himself  confronted  by  tho  men  who  had  beaten 
Vanderbilt  and  Drew,  had  had  everything  their  own  way 
in  the  Courts  and  Legislature  for  a  year,  and  who  now  had 
all  the  resources  of  Erie  and  Tammany  Hall  behind  them. 


BUYING    UP    THE    STOCK.  193 

The  control  of  the  election  necessitated  a  control  of  a 
majority  of  stock,  and  herein  Mr.  Ramsey  felt  reasonably 
secure,  despite  all  the  resources  and  power  of  his  new  an- 
tagonists. He  knew  he  could  command  a  majority  of 
the  floating  stock  and  he  felt  quite  as  secure  about  the 
stock  held  by  the  towns  along  the  road.  This  stock  the 
towns  were  not  permitted  to  soil  for  less  than  par,  cash 
down.  As  the  nominal  value  of  the  stock  was  only  20 
cents  on  the  dollar,  there  seemed  no  likelihood  of  the 
towns  getting  par  for  their  stock  and  there  was  no  doubt 
that  if  they  held  the  stock  they  would  vote  on  it  for  Mr. 
Ramsey  against  the  men  whose  principles  had  been  made 
manifest  in  connection  with  Erie  the  past  year.  Under 
the  purchases  made  by  the  Erie  party  to  get  control,  the 
small  amount  of  floating  stock  rose  quickly  from  20  to  40, 
50  and  65.  Still  Mr.  Ramsey  felt  secure  of  a  majority  till 
he  heard  that  agents  of  his  opponents  were  out  among  the 
towns  on  the  road  offering  par  in  cash  for  the  stock  held 
by  the  towns.  In  one  or  two  instances  the  extraordinary 
offer  proved  too  tempting  and  was  accepted.  Under  the 
competition  thus  excited  the  stock  held  by  towns  suddenly 
rose  to  a  premium.  But  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  did  not 
care  to  spend  so  much  money  as  would  be  required  to 
obtain  a  majority  of  the  stock  at  prices  above  par  when 
they  knew  it  must  fall  back  to  20  or  near  it  immediately 
after  election,  and  consequently  bethought  themselves  of 
means  to  compass  their  purpose  without  the  use  of  capital. 
The  officers  of  some  of  the  towns  owning  the  stock  were 


194  HEADS    I    WIN,    TAILS    YOU    LOSE. 

invited  down  to  New  York  and  entertained  most  hos- 
pitably and  an  arrangement  very  nice  for  Messrs.  Fisk  and 
Gould  was  made  on  the  heads-I-win-tails-you-lose  plan. 
An  agreement  was  made  that  the  stock  should  be  taken 
of  the  towns  at  par  after  the  election,  provided  that  at  the 
election  the  officers  would  vote  as  Mr.  Fisk  wished.  For 
the  fulfilment  of  this  agreement  the  town  officers  had  the 
private  bond  of  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould.  The  latter  gen- 
tlemen probably  were  well  aware  that,  as  the  town  officers 
had  no  power  to  sell  except  for  cash  down,  this  agreement 
was  wholly  illegal  and  could  not  be  enforced  against  them 
after  they  had  secured  the  votes  in  their  favor. 

On  the  3d  of  August  considerable  of  the  stock  held  by 
the  towns  was  presented  for  transfer.  The  treasurer  at 
once  transferred  all  stock  which  he  thought  had  been 
actually  purchased  and  paid  for,  whether  by  the  Erie  or 
Ramsey  party ;  but  he  refused  to  transfer  such  stock  as 
he  suspected  had  been  bought  only  by  bargain,  under  the 
convenient  arrangement  patched  up  in  Now  York.  The 
next  day  a  war  of  injunctions  commenced.  The  Erie 
party  got  an  injunction  from  Judge  Barnard  in  New  York 
forbidding  any  vote  to  be  cast  on  the  forfeited  stock  that 
had  been  re-issued  and  was  held  as  collateral  security  for 
a  loan  to  the  company.  On  the  same  day  Mr.  Ramsey 
got  an  injunction  from  Judge  Parker  at  Owego  for- 
bidding the  transfer  of  stock  held  by  the  towns  of 
Oneonta  and  Worcester.  The  next  day,  August  5th,  Mr. 
Shearman,  the  lawyer  of  the  Erie  party,  went  to  Owego 


INJUNCTIONS.  196 

and  got  the  injunction  obtained  by  Mr.  Ramsey  removed 
and  then  elsewhere  obtained  an  order  commanding  the 
transfer  that  had  been  forbidden  the  day  before.  En- 
couraged by  so  much  success,  a  bolder  step  was  taken. 
An  order  was  obtained  restraining  Mr.  Ramsey  from 
acting  as  an  officer  of  the  road.  With  Mr.  Ramsey  in 
the  board,  it  was  equally  divided ;  his  removal  therefore 
placed  his  opponents  in  the  majority  and  as  the  vice- 
president  was  in  the  interest  of  the  Erie  party  this  move 
gave  them  a  great  advantage,  putting  them  in  possession 
of  the  transfer  books  and  enabling  them  to  make  the 
transfers  to  their  own  liking.  But  Mr.  Ramsey  did  not 
surrender  quietly.  An  angry  assertion  of  conflicting 
rights  prevailed  all  day  at  the  offices  of  the  company  in 
Albany,  and  became  so  serious  that  the  police  had  to  be 
called  in  to  preserve  order  and  prevent  the  two  parties 
from  coming  to  a  trial  of  muscular  strength  to  determine 
which  should  hold  possession.  Night  put  an  end  to  this 
angry  growl,  but  Mr.  Ramsey  knew  the  opponents  he  had 
to  deal  with  and  that  immediate,  decisive  measures  were 
necessary  to  foil  them.  Therefore  he  improved  the  even- 
ing. It  was  felt  on  both  sides  that  possession  of  the 
transfer  books  greatly  increased  the  chances  of  success  for 
the  party  holding  them,  as  they  were  to  be  closed  on  the 
7th  and  it  was  now  the  evening  of  the  5th.  Accordingly 
Mr.  Ramsey  had  the  books  removed  from  the  office  that 
night  and  when  his  enemies  came  in  next  morning  the 
prize  they  most  coveted  in  getting  possession  was  not  to 


196  STOCK   LEDGEBS   SPIBITED   AWAT. 

be  found.  Many  were  the  wild  goose  chases  made  to 
regain  possession  of  these  books.  They  were  heard  of, 
now  in  Pittsfield,  out  of  the  State,  now  in  Troy  only  six 
miles  away,  then  in  Schenectedy ;  but  on  the  arrival  of 
officers  at  the  place  where  rumor  had  last  placed  them, 
they  were  found  to  be  quite  as  far  off  in  some  other  di- 
rection and  the  pursuit  was  like  seeking  the  gold  at  the 
end  of  the  rainbow.  A  great  point  was  attempted  to  be 
made  against  Mr.  Kamsey  for  the  abstraction  of  the  books 
in  this  manner,  his  opponents  crying  out  against  the  dis- 
honesty, violation  of  power  and  rights,  and  dread  of 
justice,  implied  in  the  act.  And  another  step  served 
them  still  better  to  the  same  effect.  The  night  the  books 
were  removed,  Mr.  Ramsey  got  several  of  his  friends  to 
subscribe  for  considerable  sums  of  the  stock  of  the  com- 
pany which  had  not  yet  been  taken  up,  he  promising  to 
provide  for  the  10  per  cent,  of  the  price  which  was  to  be 
paid  in  immediately  in  order  to  enable  them  to  have  the 
stock  entered  in  their  names.  This  of  course  was  not  a 
bona  fide  subscription,  but  was  resorted  to  as  a  means  of 
controling  the  election.  As  such  it  made  Mr.  Eamsey 
obnoxious  to  the  charge  of  unfair  and  lawless  acts,  and  he 
made  his  position  in  this  respect  still  weaker  by  the  means 
taken  to  secure  the  necessary  10  per  cent,  of  the  sub- 
scription money.  He  took  the  equipment  bonds  of  the 
company  and  pledged  them  as  collateral  security  for  a 
loan.  This  was  exceeding  any  power  that  he  ever  could 
have  had,  and  his  enemies  were  not  slow  to  seize  the 


THE   ROAD    LEFT   WITHOTTT   A   HEAD.  197 

handle  thus  afforded  them.  So  immeasurably  superior  to 
his  opponents  was  the  strength  of  Mr.  Ramsey's  position 
in  the  matter  of  personal  character,  business  and  social 
standing,  that  charges  from  them  against  his  integrity  fell 
like  peas  pelted  at  the  Rocky  Mountains;  but  in  the 
excitement  of  the  hour  they  tended  somewhat  to  damage 
and  weaken  his  position. 

But  the  Erie  party  were  not  left  to  exercise  their 
power  long,  though  the  books,  the  most  valuable  part  of 
the  corporation  for  their  immediate  purpose,  had  been 
removed  beyond  their  reach.  The  next  morning,  the 
6th,  just  as  they  were  getting  ready  to  exercise  their 
newly  acquired  functions,  an  injunction  was  obtained 
and  served  upon  them  by  the  Ramsey  party,  restraining 
them  from  acting  as  officers  of  the  corporation.  The 
road  was  thus  left  without  a  head  or  management. 
This  new  move  was  immediately  telegraphed  to  the 
Grand  Opera  House  in  New  York.  Mr.  Shearman  waa 
there  at  Mr.  Fisk's  side  and  immediately  saw  the  legal 
aspect  of  the  situation.  The  corporation  being  left 
without  officers,  an  order  must  be  obtained  appointing  a 
receiver  to  take  charge  of  the  road.  Mr.  Shearman 
immediately  set  about  preparing  the  papers  necessary  to 
obtain  the  desired  order.  A  judge  must  be  had  to  grant 
the  order.  There  were  three  judges  of  the  First  District 
in  the  city,  while  the  fourth  was  absent  in  Poughkeepsie, 
at  the  bedside  of  his  dying  mother.  There  were  judges 
of  the  Second  District  to  be  found  in  Brooklyn  in  case  of 


198  FISK  APPOINTED  RECEIVES, 

need.  But  there  seemed  some  magic  virtue  in  the  orders 
of  the  one  absent  judge,  consequently  he  was  summoned 
from  his  dying  mother  by  telegraph  and  came  down  to> 
New  York.  This  was  Judge  George  G.  Barnard.  The- 
papers  were  not  ready  till  ten  o'clock  at  night  At  that 
hour  the  judge  who  had  come  down  from  Poughkeepsie  for 
the  purpose  was  so  near  at  hand  and  was  so  quick  to  per- 
ceive the  merits  of  the  case  that  fifteen  minutes  or  there- 
abouts sufficed  for  the  whole  process  of  taking  the  papers  to 
him,  obtaining  a  hearing  and  securing  his  signature  to  the- 
document.  The  receivers  appointed  for  this  important 
trust  were  James  Fisk,  Jr. !  and  Mr.  Courier. 

Equipped  with  Judge  Barnard's  order,  Mr.  Fisk  and 
party  left  for  Albany  by  the  eleven  o'clock  p.  M.  train  to- 
assume  the  delicate  responsibility;  but  on  arriving  there- 
in the  morning  they  found  the  Eamsey  party  had  been 
as  quick  as  themselves  to  understand  the  situation  and 
had  had  the  Hon.  E.  H.  Pruyn  appointed  receiver  a  few 
minutes  earlier  than  Mr.  Fisk  received  his  authority. 
When  Judge  Barnard's  receivers  went  to  the  offices  to- 
take  possession  they  found  them  already  held  by  the- 
opposing  receiver's  representatives,  with  Mr.  Van  Vaulk- 
enburg  in  command.  Mr.  Fisk  introduced  himself  to. 
Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg  and  announced  his  mission.  The 
gentleman  in  possession  intimated  that  he  did  not  propose? 
to  surrender  the  trust  of  which  he  had  been  put  ia 
charge.  Thereupon  Mr.  Fisk  turned  to  the  choice  band 
of  supporters  he  had  brought  up  from  New.  York  with. 


MB.    FISK    HUSTLED   DOWN    STAIB8.  199 

him  and  said,  "Come  on,  boys!"  Then,  addressing 
himself  to  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg,  he  continued,  "  this  is 
my  twenty-sixth  raid  and  I'm  going  to  take  you  fellows 
if  it  costs  a  million  dollars."  With  these  words  he  and 
his  "  boys "  proceeded  to  take  possession  and  oust  the 
occupants  by  force;  but  this  attempt  took  a  very  unex- 
pected turn  and  Mr.  Fisk  and  his  "  boys  "  got  hustled 
down  stairs  with  a  haste  that  paid  no  regard  to  ceremony, 
Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg  proving  to  be  a  man  of  such 
muscular  activity  that  Mr.  Fisk  instead  of  "  taking  you 
fellows,"  suddenly  brought  up  on  the  sidewalk  with  his 
spruce  attire  and  toilet  in  a  rather  disordered  condition. 
He  had  hardly  had  time  to  adjust  his  hat  properly,  when 
a  fussy  little  man  stepped  up  and  marched  him  off  to  the 
Ration  house  for  creating  a  disturbance.  On  reaching 
police  headquarters  Mr.  Fisk  was  released  and  found  that 
the  little  man  who  had  marched  him  off  so  promptly  was 
not  a  policeman  at  all,  but  an  employs  of  the  railroad 
and  a  supporter  of  Mr.  Ramsey. 

Such  an  ignominious  and  ludicrous  result  of  the  first 
move  in  his  twenty-sixth  raid  might  well  have  afflicted 
Mr.  Fisk  with  a  li ttle  chagrin  and  disturbed  his  temper ; 
but  he  seemed  to  appreciate  the  comic  element  of  the  pro- 
ceeding quite  as  fully  as  any  one,  so  lively  is  his  sense  of 
the  ridiculous  and  humorous,  and  on  being  set  free  at  the 
station  house  he  .immediately  returned  to  the  offices  from 
which  he  had  been  so  summarily  ejected  and  actually  led 
his  opponents  in  venting  humor  at  his  own  expense  over 


200  ADMIBA.TION   FOB   A    KAN   OF   MUSCLE. 

the  episode  in  which  he  came  out  at  the  little  end  of  the 
horn.  To  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg  who  had  so  kindly 
assisted  in  his  hasty  exit  he  was  especially  pleasant  and 
facetious  and  saluted  him  in  the  poetic  spirit, 

"  Perhaps  it  was  right  to  dissemble  your  love, 
But  why  did  yon.  kick  me  down  stairs  ?" 

He  seated  himself  upon  a  table,  swinging  his  feet  be- 
neath after  the  manner  of  the  evening  gathering  in  a 
country  variety  store,  and  in  that  situation  he  manifested 
his  high  admiration  for  manly  strength  of  character  and 
muscle  by  complimenting  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg,  saying; 
he  had  never  before  met  a  man  who  dared  face  him  and 
do  his  duty  in  that  way  .and  that  he  wanted  just  such  a 
man  in  his  employ.  He  further  proposed  that,  instead  of 
any  more  fuss  of  this  kind,  himself  and  Mr.  Ramsey 
should  play  a  game  of  "  seven  up  w  to  determine  which 
should  have  possession  of  the  road. 

When  Mr.  Fisk  got  back  to  the  scene  of  his  rout  he 
found  that  Mr.  Pruyn  had  arrived  and  was  now  in  pos- 
session in  propria  persona,  so  the  two  opposing  receivers 
met  face  to  face  and  each  claimed  to  be  in  possession.  The 
news  of  the  affair  of  the  morning  was  immediately  tele- 
graphed to  New  York  and  upon  the  strength  of  the 
telegram  Mr.  Shearman  made  a  new  affidavit  and  obtained 
from  Judge  Barnard  a  new  injunction  forbidding  every- 
body from  interfering  with  receivers  Fisk  and  Courier  and 
also  granting  an  absolute  "writ  of  assistance"  empower- 
ing the  sheriff  to  impress  the  whole  posse  comitatus  into 


BA.ENABD'S  iffjtwcTioNs  BY  TELEGBAPH.  201 


his  service  to  execute  this  last  injunction.  This  new  in- 
junction and  writ  were  telegraphed  to  Albany  and  about 
three  o'clock  p.  it.  the  sheriff  actually  attempted  to  pro- 
ceed upon  authority  purporting  to  have  been  obtained 
from  New  York,  based  upon  acts  that  had  occurred  in 
Albany  only  five  hours  previous.  The  authority  was  oon- 
temptously  disregarded.  A  counterblast  was  fired  in  the 
shape  of  an  order  for  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Fisk  for  contempt 
of  Court  in  interfering  with  its  officer,  Receiver  Pruyn. 
This  closed  the  active  hostilities  of  the  day  and  it  being 
now  evident  that  no  crisis  or  decision  could  be  reached, 
a  truce  till  nine  o'clock  Monday  morning  was  agreed  upon 
and  the  two  opposing  chiefs  withdrew,  each  leaving  depu- 
ties behind  to  maintain  the  situation  in  stafy,  quo  till  the 
hour  appointed. 

Mr.  Fisk  left  immediately  for  New  York  to  receive 
instructions  from  his  legal  guides  and  get  the  original 
copy  of  Judge  Barnard's  last  injunction  and  the  writ  of 
assistance.  With  these  and  a  retinue  of  a  dozen  or  fifteen 
"boys"  he  departed  for  the  front  again  Sunday  evening, 
determined  on  a  brilliant  coup  de  grace  in  his  first  charge 
on  the  morrow.  He  presented  himself  at  the  scene  of 
action  Monday  morning  but  was  completely  surprised  by 
his  adversary's  crying  "check!"  before  he  had  made  a 
single  move.  Daring  his  sojourn  at  the  Grand  Opera 
House,  the  Ramsey  party  had  obtained  a  new  injunction  re- 
straining everybody  from  interfering  with  Receiver  Pruyn 
and  expressly  enjoining  sheriffs  from  proceeding  to  any 


202  FI8K  AND  BABNAKD  FLANKED. 

measures  on  the  authority  of  the  writ  of  assistance.  A 
train  with  forty  or  fifty  Ramsey  men  and  Mr.  Smith  as 
legal  adviser,  was  early  started  from  Albany,  serving  this 
injunction  on  sheriffs  and  installing  deputies  of  Receiver 
Pruyn  as  they  went.  Mr.  Fisk  thus  found  himself  effect- 
ually foiled  and  the  situation  looked  very  unfavorable  for 
his  prospects.  But  a  consultation  was  held  with  his 
lawyers  and  advisers,  and  a  brilliant  device  was  hit  upon 
for  bringing  matters  to  a  dead  lock  and  the  road  to  a 
stand  still.  As  his  enemies  were  now  in  possession  of  the 
Albany  end  of  the  road  beyond  the  power  of  removal 
except  by  actual  force,  he  determined  to  get  possession  of 
as  much  of  the  other  end  as  possible,  so  that  while  his 
opponents  governed  the  head  he  might  hang  on  by  the 
tail.  There  was  but  one  way  of  accomplishing  this  now 
most  desirable  object.  The  power  of  his  opponent  was 
extending  toward  Binghamton  as  fast  as  steam  could  take 
it  and  nothing  but  electricity  could  get  there  ahead  of  it. 
Accordingly,  he  telegraphed  his  orders,  injunctions  and 
writs  of  assistance  to  Binghamton,  where  Erie  is  much 
more  of  a  power  than  at  Albany,  and  there  he  met  with 
better  success  than  where  he  was  personally  present. 
Men  were  found  ready  and  eager  to  do  his  bidding  and 
under  his  telegraphed  orders  and  documents  the  Bing- 
hamton end  of  the  road  was  immediately  taken  possession 
of.  in  his  name  as  receiver.  An  Erie  superintendent  was 
placed  in  charge.  A  train  standing  at  the  station  ready 
to  start  was  not  permitted  to  proceed  till  an  Erie  engine 


THE   BINOHAMTON    END    SEIZED    BT    TKI.EGBAPH.          203 

had  been  substituted,  an  Erie  conductor  placed  in  charge, 
and  an  Erie  sheriff  was  on  board  to  distribute  Erie  in- 
junctions and  writs  of  assistance  and  replace  all  employes 
by  Erie  sympathizers,  wherever  the  train  stopped.  There 
were  four  Albany  and  Susquehanna  engines  at  Bingham- 
ton.  The  sheriff  of  Erie  got  possession  of  three  of  them 
and  was  riding  down  the  track  on  one  of  those  he  had 
captured  to  secure  the  fourth,  when  the  engineer  of  the 
latter  suddenly  moved  a  switch  in  such  a  way  as  to  send 
the  sheriff  and  the  engine  bearing  him  off  the  track,  then 
jumped  quickly  upon  his  own,  let  on  the  steam  and  made 
good  time  towards  Albany. 

The  doings  of  the  Erie  men  at  Binghamton  had  been 
telegraphed  to  Albany  and  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg  was  at 
length  fully  roused  and  determined  on  the  most  decisive 
measures.  Mr.  Fisk  had  not  been  permitted  to  enter  the 
Albany  &  Susquehanna  offices  at  all  that  day,  but  his 
deputy  and  brother  receiver,  Mr.  Courter,  had  remained 
since  Saturday  to  assert  possession  for  the  Fisk  party. 
When  news  of  the  proceedings  at  Binghamton  arrived 
and  fired  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg's  will,  he  immediately 
notified  Mr.  Courter  that  the  farce  of  his  pretended  pos- 
session had  gone  far  enough  and  that  he  must  leave  the 
premises  at  once.  The  experience  of  Saturday  morning 
being  fresh  in  Mr.  Courier's  memory,  he  deemed  it  best 
to  go  without  assistance  and  retired,  though  under 
protest.  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg  then  telegraphed  along 
the  road  ordering  his  trains  to  stop  where  they  were. 


DETERMINED    STEPS   OF  MR.    VAK 

The  train  that  left  Albany  in  the  morning  had  reached 
Harpersville,  twenty-five  miles  from  Binghamton,  when, 
hearing  of  the  situation  at  the  latter  place,  they  decided 
not  to  proceed  and  fell  back  to  Bainbridge,  thirty-six 
miles  from  Binghamton  and  there  waited  further  develop- 
ments. .a:i;.  • 

The  afternoon  train  from  Binghamton,  thoroughly 
transformed  into  an  Erie  establishment,  proceeded  on  its 
way,  sheriff  aboard,  and  put  the  road  into  Erie  hands  as 
it  went  When  they  reached  Afton,  thirty  miles  from 
Binghamton,  they  were  met  by  a  telegram  from  Mr. 
Van  Vaulkenburg  warning  them  that  any  further 
advance  would  be  at  their  peril.  They  therefore  halted 
and  telegraphed  for  farther  instructions  from  Mr.  Fisk 
at  Albany.  They  received  a  peremptory  order  to  proceed 
and  accordingly  started  again.  It  was  now  late  in  the 
night  and  they  advanced  with  much  caution,  feeling  their 
way  as  they  went,  to  see  that  no  bridge  had  been 
destroyed  or  rails  torn  up  by  their  adversaries.  The 
Eamsey  party  had  with  them  a  patent  "  frog,"  designed 
to  get  displaced  cars  on  to  the  track,  but  it  now  occurred 
to  some  one  that  it  was  equally  well  adapted  to  throwing 
them  off.  This  they  fixed  to  a  rail  and  then  took  up  a 
position  on  a  side  track  to  await  the  enemy's  approach. 
The  Erie  party  came  in  sight  of  the  Baiubridge  station 
and,  all  dangerous  places  being  passed,  they  moved  on 
more  boldly  and  unsuspiciously  when,  just  before  reach- 
ing the  station,  they  suddenly  became  conscious  of 


A.N    ERIE   PARTY   MADE    PRISONERS.  205 

something  irregular  and  found  themselves  off  the  track. 
The  Ramsey  train  now  immediately  moved  up  on  to  the 
main  track  behind  them  and  they  were  prisoners.  The 
Ramsey  party  gallantly  helped  them  out  of  their  car, 
and  finding  themselves  captured  they  quietly  surren- 
dered. 

Emboldened  by  success,  the  Ramsey  party  now  re- 
solved to  advance  and  started  once  more  towards  Bing- 
hamton  early  Tuesday  morning.  They  removed  the 
Erie  men  placed  in  charge  the  previous  day  and  restored 
the  former  employes.  All  went  smoothly  till  they 
reached  a  spot  known  as  "the  Tunnel,"  about  fifteen 
miles  from  Binghamton.  The  tunnel  is  some  two  hun- 
dred feet  long,  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  and  is  approached 
from  either  side  by  a  steep  up  grade  and  over  a  sharply 
curving  track.  On  reaching  this  point  at  about  10  A.  M. 
they  received  news  of  a  new  Erie  train  that  had  come  up 
from  Binghamton  with  several  hundred  men  to  give 
them  battle.  At  this  intelligence  they  halted  and  the  two 
hostile  bands  stood  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  tunnel  all 
day  reconnoitering  and  preparing,  neither  party  appar- 
ently daring  to  attack.  The  Fisk  party  was  composed  of 
employes  of  the  Erie  road  and  work-shops  and  was  in- 
creased during  the  day  by  the  arrival  of  new  trains  bring" 
ing  up  men  and  provisions,  till  their  forces  numbered 
about  eight  hundred.  But  their  very  numbers  told  against 
them.  Without  discipline,  organization  or  conscious 
purpose,  with  no  acknowledged  commanders,  they  were  a 


206  OPPOSED   FOECES    MEET   A.T   THE   TUNNEL. 

mere  unwieldy  mob,  to  whom  fifty  men  with  an  ac- 
knowledged leader  would  have  been  infinitely  superior. 
The  Ramsey  company  was  also  reinforced  during  the  day 
by  the  arrival  of  another  train  from  Albany  and  by  the 
gathering  of  sympathizers  from  the  vicinity  and  now 
numbered  about  four  hundred,  or  one  half  the  party  on 
the  other  side  of  the  tunnel.  Besides  being  fewer  in 
number,  which  in  this  case  was  doubtless  an  advantage, 
the  men  directing  their  movements  were  gentlemen  of 
such  personal  force  and  character  as  to  establish  some- 
thing like  organization  among  them,  and,  still  more,  they 
were  all  inspired  by  a  definite  principle  and  strong  feel- 
ing, a  unifying  and  strengthening  element  in  which  their 
opponents  were  entirely  lacking.  At  last,  after  such 
feeble  preparation  as  was  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  under  imperative  orders  by  telegraph  from 
commander  Fisk  at  Albany  to  commence  offensive  opera- 
tions, the  Erie  party  decided  to  advance  and  took  the 
initiative  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Their  chief 
reliance  seems  to  have  been  upon  the  amount  of  momen- 
tum they  could  get  up,  and  this  was  undoubtedly  the  one 
point  in  which  they  were  strongest ;  but  since  Csezar's  day 
mere  momentum  as  a  determining  element  in  warfare  has 
dwindled  in  importance  as  against  scientific  manceuvreing 
much  more  than  these  improvised  warriors  seem  to  have 
been  conscious  of.  However,  as  this  was  their  best  if  not 
their  only  weapon,  it  was  probably  the  part  of  wisdom  to 
adopt  it  since  they  were  under  peremptory  commands  to 


EB115  OFFERS  BATTLE.  207 

advance.  Their  philosophy  seems  to  have  been  to  load  a 
train  as  heavily  as  possible  and  set  it  going,  trusting  to 
luck  for  all  the  rest.  They  put  together  the  heaviest  train 
they  could  make  up,  filled  it  with  men  (though  for  what 
purpose  does  not  appear,  unless  for  their  weight  and  to 
dispose  of  them  somehow)  and  started  it  through  the 
long  tunnel.  With  hearts  trembling  in  trepidation,  more 
from  the  darkness  and  the  utter  indefiniteness  of  purpose 
than  from  any  apprehended  harm,  these  crusaders  moved 
cautiously  through  the  tunnel,  emerged  upon  the  Albany 
side  and  halted  to  take  breath.  They  found  a  single  rail 
removed  by  their  opponents.  This  was  replaced  and  once 
more  they  moved  forward,  having  now  a  down  grade. 
The  Ramsey  men  had  been  warned  of  the  approach  and 
were  not  afraid  even  to  try  momentum  as  the  first  move, 
probably  conscious  that  this  could  determine  nothing  and 
only  serve  as  a  .signal  for  further  operations  depending 
much  more  upon  skill,  organization,  and  commanders,  in 
which  they  felt  superior.  Accordingly  when  the  rail  was 
replaced  and  the  attacking  train  was  advancing  again,  the 
Ramsey  train  started,  too,  puffing  up  the  hfll  most  de- 
terminedly, bent  on  mischief.  The  Erie  train  moving 
slowly  down  the  hill,  turned  a  sharp  corner  and  suddenly 
became  aware  of  the  approach  of  their  enemy  under  full 
headway  with  the  manifest  intention  of  a  collision.  Per- 
haps the  Erie  men  had  "  sogered  "  under  McClellan,  for 
they  had  evidently  expected  to  go  through  this  war  with- 
out hurting  anybody.  The  sudden  prospect  of  danger 


208  COLLISION    AND    BOUT. 

therefore  took  them  wholly  by  surprise  and  threw  them 
into  the  greatest  consternation.  The  conductor  swung 
his  hat  and  gesticulated  frantically  to  induce  the  Ramsey 
train  to  stop.  The  engineer  instantly  whistled  "down 
brakes  !  "  then  whistled  the  signal  of  danger  and  reversed 
his  engine.  The  Ramsey  engineer  merely  whistled  "  get 
out  of  the  way  !  "  steamed  ahead  with  his  full  strength, 
and  smash !  went  the  two  engines  into  each  other.  The 
shock  and  panic  to  Erie  was  complete.  The  men  leaped 
from  the  train  and  without  stopping  to  see  what  had 
happened  "  skedaddled  "  for  the  Binghamton  side  of  the 
tunnel  with  their  utmost  speed,  some  running  through  the 
tunnel,  others  over  the  hill  above  it,  each  going  like  an 
Olympian  runner,  as  if  life  depended  upon  reaching  the 
other  end,  affording  one  of  the  most  unique  and  amusing 
foot  races  ever  witnessed.  Their  engine  and  train  partici- 
pated in  the  hasty  retreat,  and  backed  up  to  the  home  side 
of  the  tunnel.  The  Ramsey  men,  having  intended  the  col- 
lision, were  not  in  the  least  disturbed  or  demoralized,  but 
were  perfectly  self-possessed  and  set  upon  the  Erie  men 
with  shouts,  and  sticks  and  stones  as  they  jumped  from 
their  cars  in  a  panic,  and  pursued  them  a  short  distance 
in  their  flight. 

As  the  Erie  train  was  moving  slowly,  reversed  the 
engine  and  put  on  the  brakes  the  moment  danger  was 
foreseen,  and  as  the  grade  was  too  heavy  for  the  Ramsey 
train  to  get  up  much  speed,  the  collision  did  little  damage 
beyond  smashing  the  cow-catcher  and  headlights  and 


PtTBSTTTT   OF   ERIE   FUGITIVES.  209 

throwing  the  Ramsey  engine  partially  off  the  track. 
The  'power  of  locomotion  was  not  destroyed  in  either. 
The  Ramsey  men  set  immediately  to  work  to  replace 
their  engine  npon  the  track  and  then,  resolving  to  follow 
up  their  success,  pushed  on  through  the  tunnel.  But  on 
emerging  they  found  the  time  spent  in  getting  their 
engine  upon  the  track  had  sufficed  to  arrest  the  course  of 
the  fugitives,  allay  their  panic,  and  •  gather  them  into  a 
more  disorganized  mob  than  ever.  They  stood  crowded 
together  ready  in  turn  to  dispute  any  further  advance. 
The  Ramsey  train  therefore  halted  and  the  two  parties 
stood  facing  each  other  at  a  safe  distance  apart.  The 
scene  was  now  much  like  that  often  presented  by  the 
boys  of  two  cities  on  opposite  sides  of  a  river  meeting  on 
the  ice  for  a  championship  fight.  Each  party  stood,  as 
it  were,  with  a  chip  on  its  shoulder  and  bravely  dared 
the  other  to  come  and  knock  it  off.  The  war  was 
hardly  more  than  one  of  words,  but  in  this  respect  it 
perhaps  stands  unequalled.  Many  of  the  Erie  men  had 
indulged  quite  freely  in  "  fire  water "  to  get  up  some 
"  Dutch  courage  "  and  the  vollies  of  profanity  and  coarse 
denunciation  poured  in  upon  their  adversaries  was 
revolting  in  the  extreme.  As  in  the  boy  fights,  some  of 
the  more  bold  and  venturesome  characters  on  either  side 
stepped  out  a  few  paces  in  front  of  the  rest  and  indulged 
in  a  little  skirmishing.  Sticks  and  stones  were  thrown, 
a  few  hand  to  hand  fights  occurred,  and  a  few  random 
pistol  shots  were  fired.  The  Ramsey  party  were  much 


210  THK    MILITIA    CALLED   OUT. 

the  most  exasperated  and  in  earnest,  so  the  Erie  men 
sustained  nearly  all  the  injuries  and  rested  all  their 
laurels  on  the  capture  of  one  prisoner.  One  of  the 
Ramsey  men  advanced  so  boldly  that  he  suddenly  found 
himself  separated  from  his  comrades  and  his  retreat  cut 
off.  He  ran  behind  a  freight  car  for  refuge  and  was 
there  surrounded  by  a  large  party  who  now  heroically 
captured  him,  kicked  and  cuffed  him,  and  proposed  to 
kill  him.  At  length  he  was  recognized  as  an  acquaint- 
ance by  one  of  the  captors,  who  proposed  to  make  him 
a  prisoner  instead  of  killing  him  and  the  suggestion  was 
adopted.  He  was  placed  under  a  strong^  guard  but -the 
watch  over  him  gradually  grew  careless  and  at  half  past 
eleven  he  succeeded  in  making  his  escape  from  durance 
vile,  but  only  to  wander  about  all  night  in  a  vain  effort 
to  rejoin  his  comrades. 

Matters  had  assumed  such  a  serious  aspect  in  the 
afternoon  that  the  civil  authorities  of  Broome  County  had 
despaired  of  being  able  to  maintain  order  and  called 
upon  the  military  for  assistance.  In  obedience  to  this 
request  the  44th  regiment  was  called  out  and  reached 
the  scene  of  disorder  about  eight  o'clock,  when  the 
shouting  and  oaths  had  grown  hideous  in  the  night  and 
the  riot  was  growing  quite  serious.  At  the  sound  of  its 
drums  the  Kamsey  men  retreated  through  the  tunnel 
with  their  train,  left  a  freight  car  off  the  track  inside  the 
tunnel,  tore  up  a  few  rails,  and  then  fell  back  to  Harpers- 
ville  for  the  night,  firing  a  few  bridges  as  they  went. 


PUBLIC    DEMONSTRATIONS.  211 

Only  two  of  the  Erie  men  had  been  hit  by  pistol  shots 
and  only  a  few  more  had  been  hurt  at  all  seriously, 
while  the  report  of  the  Ramsey  party  was,  "  nobody 
hurt."  Thus  ended  a  riot  combining  so  many  of  the 
worst  elements  of  a  mob  as  to  make  it  a  great  wonder  that 
it  proved  so  harmless. 

Excitement  over  the  riot  and  the  whole  situation  had 
now  spread  throughout  the  State,  was  all  absorbing 
along  the  line  of  the  road,  and  culminated  at  Albany, 
the  headquarters  of  both  parties.  The  Governor  had 
been  summoned  from  a  pleasure  sojourn  at  the  Catskills 
to  take  action  upon  the  situation,  a  feeling  of  insecurity 
existed  everywhere  between  Albany  and  Binghamton, 
and  marked  public  demonstrations  were  everywhere  made. 
When  the  engine  that  dodged  the  sheriff  at  Binghamton 
and  the  train  that  was  captured  at  Bainbridge,  arrived 
in  Albany  they  were  received  with  the  most  enthusiastic 
demonstrations  by  a  large  crowd  of  citizens ;  wherever 
Erie  men  or  sympathizers  appeared  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  riot  they  were  treated  to  a  shower  of  opprobrious 
epithets  by  the  women  and  children  and  requested  to 
"  clear  out ;  "  and  everywhere  the  feeling  seemed  unani- 
mous in  favor  of  Mr.  Ramsey  and  decidedly  bitter  against 
Erie.  To  all  this  Mr.  Fisk  manifested  characteristic  in- 
difference and  on  Tuesday  afternoon  there  appeared  in 
the  papers  a  letter  from  him  in  which  he  said : 

"Quick  sharp  work  and  so  much  to  be  done  on  a 
stamping  ground  new  to  me,  left  me  only  to  feel  that  the 


212  A   KIP   VAN   WINKLE   SLEEP. 

great  majority  of  the  good  people  of  Albany  were 
running  away  with,  a  wrong  idea  of  our  side  of  the 
question  and  overlooked  the  great  benefits  and  advan- 
tages we  were  bringing  to  their  doors.  .  .  I  should 
suppose  the  people  of  this  good  city  would  welcome  us 
with  open  arms.  Look  at  the  past.  Has  not  everything 
been  done  by  the  Central  line  to  make  you  a  mere  local 
station,  to  ruin  your  shipping  and  wipe  out  your  instru- 
ments of  business  and  leave  you  with  nothing  on  hand 
but  pleasure  all  the  time,  which  is  very  tiresome — or 
rather  to  leave  you  a  Rip  Van  Winkle  sleep  ?  .  .  .  Mr. 
Ramsey  and  myself  have  long  been  friends  ana  nothing 
but  the  welfare  of  the  great  interests  involved  would 
have  brought  me  in  collision  with  him.  I  have  the 
highest  regard  for  him,  barring  my  opinion  of  him  as  a 
railroad  manager.  I  am  sorry  that  he  stands  to-day 
between  the  interests  of  the  people  and  our  corporation. 
There  can  be  but  one  result,  and  that  will  be  free 
admission  to  us  in  Albany.  For  all  we  ask  we  give  you 
four-fold  in  return.  The  star  of  the  Albany  &  Susque- 
hanna  road,  as  a  mere  local  road,  has  set.  It  must  now 
be  part  of  the  great  thoroughfare  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.  .  .  It  is  evident  the  hostility  to  our  interests 
is  stimulated  by  those  in  the  interest  of  the  Central.  .  . 
The  interest  of  the  Erie  is  to  run  it ;  the  interest  of  the 
Central  is  to  discontinue  it.  .  .  It  is  not  a  question  of 
to-day  but  of  the  future,  and  I  think  my  holding  out 
powers  will  last  with  those  who  are  opposed  to  me.  I 
ask  no  advantage  to  which  my  case  does  not  entitle  me. 
Give  Mr.  Ramsey  the  advantages  of  every  doubt  and 
what  is  left  will  waft  us  on  to  victory." 

The  evening  after  this  letter  appeared  in  print  a  large 


MS.    FI8K   MAKES   A   KBW    DEMAND.  213 

public  meeting  was  held  in  Albany  at  which  speeches 
were  made  by  Mr.  Ramsey  and  several  .other  eminent 
citizens,  and  nowhere  (save  in  one  suite  of  rooms  at  the 
Delavan  House)  was  there  anything  but  the  strongest 
feeling  in  favor  of  the  Ramsey  side. 

During  the  day  which  culminated  in  the  riot  at  Tunnel 
Station,  the  usual  programme  had  been  repeated  at 
Albany.  The  morning  brought  a  new  injunction  and  a 
new  writ  of  assistance  from  Judge  Barnard,  designed  to 
disarm  the  proceedings  of  Judge  Peckham  of  the  day 
before.  Matters  had  now,  however,  got  to  such  a  pass 
that  these  documents  were  of  little  consequence  except  as 
a  sort  of  feminine  contest  to  see  which  should  have  the 
last  word.  Nevertheless,  being  devoid  of  any  other  amuse- 
ment, Messrs.  Fisk  and  Cojirter  approached  the  Albany 
&  Susquehanna  offices  in  a  carriage  that  afternoon,  and 
demanded  possession.  Of  course  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg 
regarded  the  demand  as  a  very  good  joke  and  answered 
it  simply  with  a  smile  that  showed  an  appreciation  of  the 
comic  element  in  Mr.  Fisk's  character.  The  Barnard 
receivers  had  so  little  confidence  of  the  success  of  their 
mission  that  they  did  not  deem  it  worth  while  to  get  out  of 
their  carriage.  Mr.  Fisk  merely  pointed  to  a  bundle  of  pa- 
pers sticking  out  of  his  pocket  as  he  lay  back  in  his  barouche 
and  looking  up  to  the  windows  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth 
said,  "  Here's  an  order  and  writ  of  assistance  from 
friend  Barnard,  fresh  up  from  New  York,  and  it  tells  me 
to  take  possession."  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg  merely 


214  EOMEO    IX    THE    BALCONY    SCENB. 

looked  down  from  the  window  and  smiled  at  the  humorous 
man.  There  was  no  more  of  the  "I'm  going  to  take  you 
fellows  if  it  costs  a  million  dollars  "  style  or  tone  in  this 
last  demand.  All  that  was  gone  and  Mr.  Fisk  seemed  to 
have  come  direct  from  "  kissing  the  blarney  stone."  Ho 
lay  there  at  ease  in  his  carriage  and  looked  up  at  Mr. 
Van  Vaulkenburg  as  Romeo  looks  up  at  Juliet  in  the 
balcony  scene,  and  in  tones  as  soft  as  a  lover's  assured 
Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg  that  if  he  would  only  yield  obeis- 
ence  to  "  them  documents "  from  Judge  Barnard  he 
should  be  splendidly  fixed  for  life  and  have  a  high  seat 
beside  the  divinities  that  preside  over  the  Grand  Opera 
House,  the  Erie  treasury,  the  Narraganset  Steamship 
Company  or  Tammany  Hall.  While  the  kind-hearted 
man  was  thus  cooing  in  the,  suaviter  in  modo  style  and 
harmlessly  amusing  "  you  fellows  "  with  a  most  humorous 
scene,  he  was  suddenly  set  upon  by  the  police,  who 
arrested  him  on  a  warrant  from  Judge  Clute  for  a  con- 
spiracy against  the  public  peace  and  order  in  attempting 
to  take  possession  of  the  Albany  &  Susquehanna  rail- 
road offices  by  force.  He  turned  his  eyes  from  Mr.  Van 
Vaulkenburg  to  the  police  with  a  most  comical  expression 
on  his  countenance,  looked  at  them  a  moment  in  a  puz- 
zled way,  then  said,  "  All  right !  Git  in  here  !"  took  the 
policemen  who  had  arrested  him  into  his  carriage  and 
said,  "  Proceed,  driver !  Good-bye,  Van  Vaulkenburg. 
Come  and  see  me  if  you  git  a  chance  and  bring  along 
something  good  to  eat."  Thus  the  afternoon's  drive  and 


MB.    ttSK    IS    TUB   HA.ITD8    OF   THE    POLICE.  2W 

entertainment  of  his  rivals  with  a  little  amusement  ended 
in  being  ignominously  marched  off  under  arrest  and  taken 
into  the  presence  of  Judge  Clute  as  a  culprit.  He  imme- 
diately gave  bail,  however,  and  was  released  from  custody 
and  returned  to  the  Delavan  House  to  tell  the  outrages 
and  indignities  that  had  been  perpetrated  upon  him  and 
make  himself  a  great  hero  by  giving  his  minions  and  re- 
tainers a  graphic  description  of  a  most  dastardly  attempt 
to  assassinate  him.  This  last  story  was  founded  upon  a 
rumor  that  as  he  approached  the  Albany  &  Susquehanna 
offices  in  the  afternoon,  so  great  had  grown  the  exaspera- 
tion against  him  that  two  men  stood  on  a  balcony  armed 
with  pistols  determined  to  shoot  him  and  were  only  pre- 
vented from  doing  so  by  the  dissuasion  of  one  of  their 
friends.  With  these  recitals  Mr.  Fisk  still  maintained  the" 
air  of  a  hero  despite  the  decidedly  unfavorable  current 
of  the  day's  events  for  his  cause. 

Immediately  upon  acquainting  himself  with  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  on  Tuesday,  the  Governor  notified  all 
sheriffs  and  other  officers  to  take  no  further  proceedings 
in  favor  of  either  side,  but  to  maintain  matters  just  as 
they  now  stood,  treating  the  party  in  actual  possession  as 
being  there  of  right,  till  the  Courts  should  decide  between 
the  contestants.  Each  party  being  now  in  actual  posses- 
sion of  one  end  of  the  road,  of  course  this  order  must 
bring  its  business  to  a  stand  still.  But  the  next  morning 
brought  the  details  of  the  riot  at  the  tunnel  and  the 
Governor  now  determined  on  more  decisive  measures. 


216    THE  GOVEBNOB.  TAKES  CONTROL  OJ  THE  BOAD. 

He  at  once  gave  the  opposing  receivers  notice  that  their 
proceedings  must  cease  and  they  must  come  to  some 
agreement  in  the  matter,  or  else  he  should  declare  the 
district  though  which  the  road  ran  to  be  in  a  state  of 
insurrection  to  the  State  and  take  possession  of  the  road 
as  a  military  measure  and  run  it  as  a  military  road  till 
the  dispute  was  settled.  The  parties  held  a  consultation 
but  could  come  to  no  agreement  and  therefore  the  oppos- 
ing receivers  united  in  a  written  request  to  the  Governor 
to  take  possession  of  the  road  and  run  it  in  the  name  of 
the  State  till  the  legal  complications  were  decided.  This 
he  consented  to  do.  General  James  McQuade  and  Col. 
Robert  Lenox  Banks  were  detailed  from  his  staff  to  take 
possession  and  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  road.  They 
entered  at  once  upon  their  new  duties  and  in  a  day  or 
two  had  all  the  bridges  and  rails  replaced  and  the  road  in 
regular  operation  again. 

Wednesday  morning  was  Judge  Peckham's  turn  again 
to  issue  a  new  order  setting  aside  Barnard's  of  the  day 
before.  The  Albanians  had  now  come  to  expect  a  fresh 
injunction  from  one  or  other  of  the  parties  every  morning 
as  being  as  much  a  matter  of  course  as  their  breakfast. 
In  this  they  were  not  disappointed  by  the  judge  upon 
whom  they  had  conferred  so  many  and  varied  honors. 
He  opened  the  morning  in  the  usual  way,  staying  pro- 
ceedings under  the  orders  from  New  York  the  previous 
day  and  attempting  to  tie  up  Mr.  Fisk's  hands  in  various 
ways.  These  matters  and  the  arrangement  with  the 


A.  BLIP  'TWIXT  CUP  AND  LIP.  217 

Governor  occupied  Mr.  Disk's  attention  till  some  new  pa- 
pers could  be  obtained  from  New  York.  These  appeared 
and  were  ready  for  use  in  the  afternoon.  They  were 
non-bailable  writs  for  the  arrest  of  Messrs  Pruyn,  Ram- 
sey and  Van  Vaulkenburg  for  contempt  of  Judge  Bar- 
nard's Court.  These  gentlemen  were  all  arrested  while  in 
the  Executive  Chamber  at  the  Capitol  that  afternoon  and 
the  design  was  to  spirit  them  away  to  New  York  and  give 
them  an  inside  view  of  Ludlow  Street  jail  before  their 
friends  could  rally  to  their  rescue.  The  first  part  of  the 
programme  was  successfully  accomplished,  but  the  parties 
were  a  little  too  far  from  New  York  city  for  such  an  easy 
execution  of  the  second  step.  A  private  steamer,  the 
"Erastus  Corning,  Jr.,"  was  chartered  for  the  especial 
purpose  or  carrying  the  prisoners  to  New  York,  where 
Mr.  Fisk  would  undoubtedly  be  on  much  better  vantage 
ground  for  treating  them  entirely  to  his  pleasure  than  he 
was  in  Albany.  But  before  they  could  be  got  aboard  the 
steamer  provided  for  their  accommodation  at  an  expense 
of  $500,  Judge  Clute  came  to  the  rescue  with  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus.  On  this  they  were  carried  before  him 
and  he  decided  to  take  till  the  next  morning  to  consider 
the  case,  but  meanwhile  they  were  set  free  from  the 
sheriff  in  whose  hands  Judge  Barnard's  order  had  placed 
them.  This  new  attempt  to  spirit  distinguished  citizens 
into  jail  therefore  proved  abortive  and  the  trick  now 
returned  to  plague  the  author.  For  while  Mr.  Fisk 
was  eating  his  dinner  at  the  Delavau  House  that  evening, 


218  ME.    FISK    FLKE8    BY    SPECIAL   STEAMER. 

still  vividly  portraying  the  narrow  escapes  his  life  had 
passed  through  in  the  last  two  days,  a  rumor  was 
brought  in  to  him  that  an  order  similar  to  Judge  Bar- 
nard's had  been  issued  for  his  own  arrest,  and  that 
the  officers  were  already  on  their  way  to  secure  him. 
On  hearing  this  he  jumped  up  from  the  table,  leaving  a 
most  tempting  piece  of  steak  unfinished,  hurried  down 
stairs,  jumped  into  a  hack  and  was  driven  to  the  bridge, 
whence  he  boarded  the  "  Erastus  Corning,  Jr.,"  and  had 
her  put  under  headway  for  New  York  at  once,  thus  being 
forced  to  make  good  his  escape  in  the  vessel  hired  as  a 
sort  of  prison  ship  for  his  enemies  and  being  obliged  to 
take  the  romantic  trip  down  the  Hudson  as  a  fugitive 
instead  of  as  triumphant  guard  over  his  fallen  foe.  Qn 
reaching  New  York  he  immediately  betook  himself 
to  the  recesses  of  the  Grand  Opera  House,  where  his 
"holding  out  powers"  could  be  exhibited  under  much 
more  favorable  circumstances  than  at  Albany,  and  kept 
very  close  quarters  for  a  day  or  two,  his  ushers  being 
instructed  to  be  doubly  precautions  about  admitting  any 
one  to  his  presence  without  special  permission.  Thus 
ended  the  first  campaign  of  Mr.  Fisk's  twenty-sixth  raid. 

The  fire  from  the  Barnard  guns  was  still  kept  up  for  a 
time,  however.  He  was  at  first  very  much  enraged  that 
Judge  Clute,  having  a  jurisdiction  inferior  to  his  own, 
should  presume  to  interfere  with  the  execution  of  one  of 
his  orders  and  threatened  to  arrest  Judge  Clute  himself. 
His  ire  on  this  point  calmed  gradually,  as  it  is  wont  to 


THE    gBCOKD    CAMPAIGN.  219 

do,  and  Judge  Clute  was  not  disturbed  in  the  exercise  of 
his  judicial  functions.  But  the  men  whom  ho  had 
rescued  by  the  offensive  habeas  corpus  felt  their  position 
BO  insecure  that  they  betook  themselves  out  of  the  State 
for  safety.  Now,  however,  set  in  one  of  those  periods 
of  peace  and  good  will  which  is  wont  to  follow  when  a 
sufficient  number  of  injunctions  has  been  issued  to 
appease  the  love  for  thb  *.$ercise  and  make  it  impossible 
for  the  judge  himself  to  keep  track  of  them  or  bring  any 
of  them  to  an  issue.  By  some  of  the  influences  know- 
ledge whereof  constitutes  an  occult  science,  Judge  Bar- 
nard became  suddenly  mollified,  declared  there  was  no 
malice  in  his  heart,  and  the  Albany  fugitives  returned  to 
their  homes  and  were  permitted  to  enjoy  them  in  peace. 
Only  one  further  order  of  consequence  was  granted  by  the 
judge.  This  was  an  order  appointing  Wm.  J.  A.  Fuller 
receiver  of  the  stock  which  was  alleged  to  have  been 
illegally  re-issued  by  Mr.  Ramsey  and  others.  Under  this 
order,  supplemented  by  the  resurrected. writ  of  assistance, 
Mr.  Fuller  obtained  possession  of  some  three  thousand 
shares  of  the  said  illegal  stock. 

In  this  situation  the  opposing  forces  now  rested  on 
their  arms  to  await  the  annual  election  of  stockholders, 
which  was  to  occur  on  September  7th,  each  being  confi- 
dent of  victory  on  that  day.  The  requisites  for  this  elec- 
tion, as  established  by  the  by-laws  of  the  corporation, 
were :  that  the  polls  should  be  open  One  hour,  from  1 2  to 
lj  on  the  day  of  election  ;  no  stock  to  be  transferred  dur- 


220  LEGAL   LEDGERDEMAIH. 

ing  the  30  days  preceding  the  election;  the  inspectors  of 
the  election  should  be  chosen  annually  by  the  stock- 
holders and  must  themselves  be  owners  of  stock  ;  and  the 
stock  books  of  the  company  must  be  present  for  the  use  of 
the  inspectors  on  the  day  of  election.  The  abstraction  of 
the  books  had  left  the  Erie  party  very  much  in  the  dark 
as  to  their  relative  strength  in  the  amount  of  stock  actu- 
ally held,  and  feeling  far  from  confident  of  success  by  fair 
means  a  most  artful  coup  de  main  was  planned,  which  is 
probably  without  a  parallel  for  a  daring  outrage  in  a  free, 
civilized  country. 

It  was  discovered  that  the  inspectors  who  had  been 
chosen  for  this  year  were  not  stockholders,  as  required  by 
the  by-laws,  and  so  were  incompetent  to  act.  An  order 
restraining  them  from  acting  was  therefore  perfectly* 
proper,  and  was  obtained  from  Judge  Clerke.  The 
chosen  inspectors  being  removed,  all  the  plans  were  laid 
for  selecting  to  act  in  their  places  inspectors  wholly  favor- 
able to  the  Erie  party.  To  further  this  purpose  as  well  as 
others,  it  was  desirable  to  have  Mr.  Eamsey  and  all  his 
leading  supporters  out  of  the  way.  To  compass  this  end 
a  suit  was  instituted  against  Messrs.  Ramsey,  Van-  Vaulk- 
enburg,  Phelps  and  Smith  (their  counsel)  for  abstracting 
the  books  of  the  company,  and  orders  for  their  arrest, 
with  bail  fixed  at  a  large  sum,  were  asked  for.  This 
request  being  on  the  face  of  it  of  a  most  monstrous  char- 
acter, the  petitioners  took  it  before  Judge  Barnard,  who 
of  course  granted  it  without  hesitation.  These  orders 


EXECUTORS   OF   BABNAM)'s    LAW.  221 

were  obtained  on  ex  parte  representations,  without  notice 
to  the  parties  against  whom  they  applied,  and  were  kept  a 
dead  secret  till  the  moment  for  which  they  were  specially 
designed,  the  whole  success  of  the  plot  depending  upon 
its  being  sprung  as  a  surprise  at  the  proper  moment. 
Not  satisfied 'with  these  legal  documents,  Mr.  Fisk,  retain- 
ing a -vivid  memory  of  Mr.  Van  Vaulkenburg's  muscular 
powers,  thought  it  prudent  to  take  up  to  the  election  what 
he,  after  all,  deemed  much  more  potent  than  the  law,  and 
what  might  be  much  needed  to  make  Barnard's  orders 
respected  so  far  from  home  and  at  the  same  time  guard 
him  from  another  ungraceful  hustling  down  stairs  and 
hasty  flight  to  New  York  by  special  private  conveyance. 
Accordingly  some  fifty  New  York  roughs  of  the  worst 
type,  chosen  for  their  especial  fitness  for  the  occasion, 
were  secured  to  go  to  Albany  to  stand  behind  Judge 
Barnard's  law  and  Mr.  Fisk's  digaity  and  protect  the 
sanctity  of  the  Albany  &  Susquehanna  ballot-box. 

Thus  armed  and  equipped  with  legal  documents  and 
"  tools  to  do  it  with,"  Mr.  Fisk  with  a  small  army  of 
legal  advisers,  clerks,  boon  companions,  and  lackeys,  de- 
parted for  "  the  front "  once  more  the  day  before  the 
election,  that  he  might  be  on  the  "  stamping  ground  "  in 
time  to  arrange  carefully  all  the  details  for  the  last  grand 
charge  in  his  "  twenty-sixth  raid."  In  his  suite  of  rooms 
at  the  Delavan  House  on  the  night  of  the  6th  and  the 
morning  of  the  7th  of  September,  the  whole  plan  was 
arranged  with  such  precision  of  detail  as  to  "  work  like 


222          NEW    TOBK    BOUGHS    APPliAB    AS    STOCK  11 OLDEES. 

a  clock,"  and  was  carefully  kept  from  all  knowledge  of 
the  enemy.  The  hardy  men  of  muscle,  carefully  se- 
lected from  the  eminent  social  element  that  rules 
New  York  city,  supplies  forces  for  the  State  establish- 
ment at  Sing  Sing  and  elects  the  like  of  Barnard  to  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  were  left  to  follow  by  a 
later  train  and  reached  Albany  on  the  morning  of  the  7th, 
the  day  of  the  election.  The  personnel  of  this  unique 
company  of  New  York's  masters  on  appearing  in  Albany 
has  been  graphically  pictured  by  Mr.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  Jr. : 

"  A  breakfast  was  negotiated  for  them  at  the  saloon  in 
the  station,  and  there  they  stood  and  fed,  as  rough  a  set 
of  patriots  as  ever  stuffed  a  ballot-box  or  hit  from  the 
shoulder.  Some  of  them  had  coats  and  some  had  not ; 
their  clothes  were  in  various  stages  of  dilapidation,  as  also 
were  their  countenances  ;  open  shirts  displayed  muscular 
breasts  and  rolled  up  trousers  stockingless  feet ;  one  man 
saved  himself  the  trouble  of  rolling  up  both  legs  of  his 
trousers  by  having  only  one  .  .  a  class  subsequently 
described  as  men  with  scarred  faces  and  noses  and  black 
eyes.  Under  the  circumstances  it  was  little  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  while  they  indulged  a  '  square  meal '  tho 
keeper  of  the  saloon  gave  directions  to  have  his  silver 
counted." 

After  being  fed,  these  choice  spirits  were  each  supplied 
with  a  few  proxies  of  Albany  &  Susquehanna  stock,  which 
entitled  them  to  enter  the  offices  of  the  company  as  stock- 
holders. Of  course  Mr.  Fisk  could  have  voted  himself 
just  as  well  on  his  own  stock,  but  it  was  deemed  especially 


YEA,    VERILY.  223 

desirable  that  these  delegates  from  the  slums  of  New 
York  should  be  present  out  of  respect  to  Mrv  Van  Vaul- 
kenburg's  much-admired  ^muscular  powers,  and  this  was 
the  best  and  only  sure  means  of  securing  their  peaceable 
admission  to  the  room. 

As  the  hour  of  noon  approached  it  was  time  to  set  the 
ball  in  motion.  All  the  actors  were  required  to  set  their 
watches  exactly  together  and  each  was  instructed  as  to 
the  precise  second  at  which  he  should  speak  his  piece  and 
play  his  part.  Mr.  Thomas  G.  Shearman,  of  the  eminent 
law  firm  of  Field  &  Shearman,  acted  as  master  of  cere- 
monies on  the  occasion..  The  improvised  stockholders 
were  marched  from  the  depot  to  the  poll  in  due  season 
and,  proxies  in  hand,  were  admitted  to  the  room  by  the 
police  on  guard.  The  inspectors  were  waylaid  on  their 
way  to  the  offices  a  few  moments  only  before  the  time  for 
them  to  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  their  duties  and  were 
served  with  the  order  forbidding  them  to  act.  This  was 
a  complete  surprise,  as  it  was  planned  to  be,  and  of  course 
threw  the  Ramsey  men  into  a  little  confusion.  At  a  quar- 
ter before  twelve,  master  of  ceremonies  Shearman  gave 
the  nod  which  was  the  signal  for  actor  No.  1  to  move  the 
organization  of  a  meeting  of  stockholders  to  elect  inspec- 
tors in  the  place  of  those  removed.  The  move  was 
seconded  and  carried,  the  fifty  roughs  with  whom  the 
room  was  packed  giving  a  lusty  "  aye "  when  they 
caught  the  signal  "this  is  the  place  to  laugh."  The 
meeting  organized,  the  vote  proceed  in  like  manner  and 


224  A   STRAW   HAT   BALLOT   BOX. 

resulted  in  the  election  of  inspectors  in  every  respect 
satisfactory  to  Mr.  Fisk.  .  The  preliminaries  thns  all 
successfully  carried  in  their  favor,  at  a  few  seconds 
past  twelve,  the  hour  prescribed  by  the  by-laws,  the 
newly  chosen  inspectors  entered  upon  their  duty,  the  bal- 
lot box  (which  consisted  of  a  straw  hat)  was  placed  in 
position  and  the  voting  commenced.  But  with  every- 
thing thus  nicely  started  entirely  in  his  favor,  Mr. 
Shearman,  like  all  masters  of  ceremonies  upon  important 
occasions,  was  still  a  'little  anxious  lest  something  should 
happen  to  mar  the  smooth  flow  before  the  entertainment 
was  over.  Messrs.  Ramsey,  Yan  Vaulkenburg,  Phelps 
and  Smith  were  in  the  adjoining  room  and  were  looked 
upon  as  a  possible  disturbing  element.  The  polls  would 
be  closed  in  an  hour,  and  if  these  gents  could  only  be 
tied  up  and  prevented  from  action  for  that  little  length  of 
time,  all  would  be  over  and  well.  And  a  little  string, 
especially  designed  for  this  very  emergency,  had  been 
brought  along  and  was  now  produced  to  do  the  de- 
sired tieing  up.  The  order  granted  by  Judge  Barnard 
for  the  arrest  of  these  gentlemen  for  the  abstraction 
of  the  books  and  which  had  been  carefully  held  back 
from  all  publicity,  was  now  produced  and  at  about 
the  same  moment  that  the  newly-organized  polls  were 
opened  the  sheriff  arrested  them.  This  was  the 
final  blow  and  if  successful — if  an  hour  could  be  oc- 
cupied in  marching  the  arrested  gentlemen  before 
A  magistrate  and  getting  bondsmen  to  give  the  outra- 


THE    TRAP    FAILS.  225 

geously  large  bail  ($25,090)  demanded — entire  success  of 
the  coup  (Je  main,  and  complete  triumph  for  Mr. -Fisk 
seemed  beyond  a  porad  venture.  But,  alas  for  human 
devices !  this  move  did  not  work  so  successfully  as  was 
hoped.  Either  Mr.  Shearman  and  the  sheriff  differed  as 
to  the  proper  manner  for  the  latter  to  proceed  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty  or  else  the  sheriff's  courage  failed 
him  at  the  vital  moment  through  a  consciousness  of  the 
outrageous  character  of  the  proceeding.  The  sheriff  did 
not  deem  it  indispensable  that  his  prisoners  should  be 
taken  from  tko  building  and  carried  before  a  magistrate. 
He  obligingly  consented  to  have  the  formalities  of  giving 
the  required  bail  gone  through  with  thero  in  the  room 
where  they  wero  and  was  guilty  of  the  (in  Erie  eyes) 
unpardonable  breach  of  duty  and  sin  of  having  blank 
bail  bonds  in  his  pockets  and  furnishing  tliem  for  the 
occasion  instead  of  requiring  time  to  be  spent  in  sending 
to  a  stationer's.  With  these  kindnesses  Mr.  Ramsey 
immediately  set  about  furnishing  satisfactory  bondsmen, 
not  in  the  least  disconcerted  by  the  surprise  sprung  upon 
him — doubly  outrageous  in  its  nature  and  the  manner 
of  its  execution.  Any  number  of  most  unquestionable 
men  stood  ready  to  give  the  bail  demanded,  and,  interpose 
every  captious,  technical,  petti  fogging,  frivolous  objection 
that  ho  could  in  "span-ing  for  wind  "  arid  the  passage  of 
the  hour,  Mr.  Shearman  was  unable  to  consume  more 
than  a  few  minutes  of  time  in  the  ceremony  of  bail 
giving.  Before  this  ceremony  was  over,  however,  and 
B 


226  TWO    KIVAT,    POLLS   OPEN. 

the  move  thus  blocked,  Mr.  Smith,  by  direction  of  Mr. 
Ramsey,  had  gone  into  the  entry  of  the  building,  there 
organized  another  meeting,  chosen  another  set  of  inspec- 
tors, opened  another  poll  and  proceeded  to  hold  their 
own  election.  A  few  inimites  after  twelve  therefore, 
there  were  two  polls  open  and  two  elections  going  on. 

But  Mr.  Uamsey,  despite  the  traps  sprung  upon  him 
and  the  numerous  troublesome  irons  he  had  in  the  fire, 
still  found  time  to  cope  with  his  enemies  in  wielding  the 
now  much  enfeebled  weapon  of  injunctions.  Just  as  the 
Fisk  poll  was  about  to  open,  its  inspectors  were  served 
with  an  injunction  forbidding  them  to  hold  an  election 
unless  they  allowed  votes  to  be  cast  upon  the  twenty-four 
hundred  shares  of  stock  which  had  been  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  receiver  on  the  ground  that  it  was  illegal  and 
could  not  be  voted  on.  Of  course  it  was  intended  by  this 
order  to  give  the  men  from,  whom  this  stock  had  been 
taken  the  privilege  of  voting  upon  it,  they  clearly  being 
the  only  persons  that  could  by  any  possibility  have  any 
right  to  vote  upon  it.  But  Mr.  Shearman,  eminent 
lawyer  as  he  was,  managed  to  make  this  order  serve 
exactly  the  opposite  purpose  from  that  for  which  he 
knew  it  was  designed.  Mr.  Fuller,  the  receiver,  being 
present  was  directed  to  vote  upon  the  stock,  and  he 
proceeded  to  do  so  and  voted  directly  against  the  wishes 
of  the  men  who  owned  the  stock  and  to  whom  tho  order 
was  expressly  intended  to  give  the  right  of  voting  thereon. 
Thus  twenty-four  hundred  votes  were  given  to  Fisk  on 


227 


stock  owned  by  his  most  active  opponents.  Some  fifteen 
minutes  later  a  second  injunction  was  served  on  the  Fisk 
inspectors  enjoining  them  absolutely  from  holding  an 
election  ;  but  the  delegation  from  the  Five  Points,  partly 
perhaps  from  their  eagerness  to  exercise  the  dignity  of 
.their  novel  and  very  ephemeral  character  as  stockholders, 
and  partly  from  Mr.  Shearman's  desire  to  work  as  rapidly 
as  possible  for  fear  of  interference,  had  voted  early,  as 
they  wore  accustomed  to  do  when  "repeating"  in  New 
York,  and  nearly  all  the  votes  of  the  Fisk  party  had  been 
safely  deposited  in  the  straw  hat  before  the  last  injunc- 
tion came,  so  it  was  necessary  to  violate  it  only  a  little 
to  receive  tho  few  that  remained  to  bo  cast. 

So  well  was  the  programme  matured  and  rehearsed 
beforehand  and  such  was  the  presence  of  inind  displayed 
by  tho  accomplished  master  of  ceremonies  that  only  a 
single  desired  detail  in  the  performance  had  been  omitted, 
but  this  little  oversight  was  an  important  one.  In  their 
haste  to  organize  and  get  their  poll  open  first,  tho  now 
Fisk  inspectors  had  omitted  to  take  tho  oath  prescribed 
by  tho  by-laws  before  entering  upon  the  discharge  of 
their  duties.  The  books,  which  the  by-laws  required 
should  be  present  for  inspection  on  election  day,  had 
been  secretly  replaced  by  Mr.  Eamsey  the  night  before, 
and  so  tho  proceedings  of  his  inspectors  had  been  every 
way  regular,  and  in  accordance  with  the  by-laws,  and 
Mr.  Shearman's  sole  claim  to  have  his  poll  treated  as  the 
legal  one  rested  Upon  the  circumstance  of  its  having  been 


TWO      BETB   OP    DIEECTOBS    EL1CTED. 


organized  a  few  minutes  before  the  rival  poll.  Neither 
party  voted  at  the  other's  poll,  so  of  course  each  elected 
its  own  ticket  without  ono  opposing  vote.  At  the  Fisk 
poll  13,400  votes  were  ca^t  and  tho  inspectors  declared 
their  ticket  elected.  At  tho  Ramsey  poll  10,742  votes 
wei'O  cast  and  tbc  inspectors  declared  their  ticket  elected. 

Thus  tho  election  was  over  and  matters  stood  just  as 
before — with  two  opposing  sets  of  officers  claiming  the 
road.  Tho  Fisk  party  had  sought  to  win  a  little  moral  sup- 
port, add  an  air  of  respectability  to  their  ticket  and  gain 
an  advantage,  by  electing  General  McQuado  and  Colonel 
Banks  among  their  directors.  Those  gentlemen  being 
already  in  possession  of  tho  road  and  running  it  in  the 
name  of  tho  State,  by  their  election  on  tho  Fisk  ticket  the 
road  was  already  in  tho  possession  of  tho  Erie  party — 
nine  points  gained.  But  these  gentlemen  resigned  imme- 
diately on  hearing  of  their  election,  which  had  been  with- 
out their  consent  cr  knowledge,  and  thus  Mr.  Fibk  was 
left  no  better  off  than  on  tho  morning  when  Mr.  Van 
Vaulkenburg  hustled  him  down  stairs  a  month  boforo. 
Ho  was  obliged  to  return  to  Now  York  with  his  "  boys," 
more  empty  handed  than  ho  came,  while  tho  Governor 
still  retained  possession  of  tho  road  and  directed  tho 
Court  to  decide  which  election  was  valid  and  which  set  of 
directors  was  entitled  to  have  possession. 

It  was  nearly  three  months  before  tho  issuo  came  on  for 
trial  and  ovon  then  Mr.  Fisk's  lawyers  made  a  strenuous 
effort  to  obtain  further  delay,  but  in  vain.  The  question 


THE   COURTS   DECIDE   IN    FAVOK    CF    RAMSEY.  229 

\vas  tried  before  Judge  E.  Darwin  Smith  at  Rochester. 
After  a  most  thorough  trial  and  a  careful  consideration  of 
the  points  raised  the  substance  of  Judge  Smith's  decision 
was  that  the  proceeding  of  the  Fisk  party,  purporting  to 
be  an  election,  was  a  fraud,  conspiracy  and  outrage  from 
beginning  to  end,  a  great  disgrace  to  every  one  concerned 
in  it,  a  scandal  to  the  State,  and  utterly  null  and  void. 
Tho  Ramsey  directors  were  declared  legally  elected  and 
entitled*  to  possession  of  the  road.  When  the  news  of 
this  decision  reached  New  York,  Mr.  Fisk's  lawyers  ob- 
tained an  order  to  prevent  the  judgment  being  entered, 
but  that  formality  had  been  already  gone  through  with 
when  this  New  York  order  reached  Rochester,  so  this 
was  a  waste  of  powder.  Foiled  in  this  move  they  imme- 
diately got  another  order  staying  all  proceedings  under  the 
judgment  and  served  it  upon  Messrs.  McQuado  and  Banks 
to  prevent  possession  being  given  to  the  Ramsey  directors. 
Judge  Peckham  again  came  to  the  rescue,  set  aside  this 
last  order  and  directed  possession  to  be  given  to  the  di- 
rectors that  had  been  declared  legally  elected.  This  order 
of  Judge  Peckham' s  was  acted  upon  and  the  possession 
transferred  as  directed  before  any  new  order  from  New 
York  could  come  to  check  it,  and  thus  Mr.  Ramsey  at' last 
again  came  into  possession  of  his  road.  He  was  not  long 
in  transferring  it  beyond  the  reach  of  any  further  inter- 
ference from  Mr.  Fisk  or  Judge  Barnard.  The  Erio 
party  finding  themselves  utterly  discomfited  in  their  effort 
to  get  the  road  by  a  raid,  now  made  overtures  for  leasing 


280 


it  and  offered  very  advantageous  terms ;  but  Mr.  Ramsey 
soon  found  that  the  bond  of  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  was 
all  the  guarantee  they  proposed  to  give  for  the  fulfilment 
of  the  contract  and  thereupon  immediately  discontinued 
negotiations  with  them  and  leased  the  road  to  the  Dela- 
ware &  Hudson  Canal  Co,  for  a  long  term  of  years  upon 
very  favorable  conditions. 

Judge  Smith  allowed  extra  costs  to  the  Ramsey  party 
for  all  the  annoyance  and  expense  to  which  they  had  been 
subjected,  and  Hon.  Samuel  L.  Selden,  an  ex -judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  was  appointed  to  determine  the  amount 
of  extra  costs  that  would  be  just  and  ho  decided  that 
ninety-two  thousand  dollars  was  no  more  than  a  proper 
sum  for  the  Erie  party  to  pay  to  indemnify  Mr.  Ramsey 
and  the  road.  Of  course  Judge  Smith's  opinion  was 
appealed  from;  but  the  General  Term  sustained  his 
judgment  as  to  the  total  illegality  of  the  election  of  the 
Fjsk  board  and  the  entire  legality  of  that  of  the  Ramsey 
board,  though  overruling  (not  on  its  merits  but  upon 
technical  grounds)  the  allowance  of  extra  costs.  And 
thus  was  a  final  quietus  put  upon  Mr.  Fisk' 3  twenty-sixth 
raid. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

BLACK    FKIDAY — THE   GREAT   GOLD  CONSPIRACY — WALL    STREET 

AND     THE     FIFTH      AVENUE     HOTEL GATHEBIXG      OP     THB 

WHIRLWIND— A    BATTLE    OP   GIANTS BURYING   THE   DEAD- 
HUE   PLOT "  UOXE   WHERE   THE    WOODBINE   TWINETH." 

Towards  the  close  of  summer,  1869,  a  feeling  seemed 
to  prevail  that  speculating  in  gold,  which  had  been  so 
extensively  engaged  in  and  been  the  making  and  break- 
ing of  many  fine  fortunes  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
in  1861,  was  drawing  rapidly  to  a  close,  and  that  the 
country  would  soon  return  to  specie  payments.  August 
21st  gold  was  selling  for  about  131,  and  so  general  was 
the  feeling  that  it  was  destined  to  make  steady  progress 
towards  par  that  many  large  operators  sold  heavily  short 
to  profit  by  the  anticipated  fall. 

In  the  spring  gold  fell  to  131,  at  which  price  Jay  Gould 
bought  several  millions  and  then,  inducing  various  news- 
papers to  magnify  the  probabilities  of  difficulties  from  the 
Alabama  claims,  a  European  war,  the  Cuban  insurrec- 
tion, and  various  other  matters  that  really  had  'about  as 
much  influence  upon  gold  as  upon  the  moon,  he  pushed 


232  THE   GEEA.T    GOLD    CONSPIRACY    OT    1869. 

the  price  up  to  145  and  gathered  a  rich  harrest.  It  was 
under  reaction  from  this  "  bull "  movement  that  the  price 
had  again  dropped  to  181  and  created  a  feeling  that  it 
would  quietly  touch  120.  Contrary  to  all  expectation, 
however,  it  suddenly  turned  again  at  181  and  was 
pushed  gradually  back  to  187,  at  which  price  it  sold 
during  the  forenoon  of  "Wednesday,  September  22d.  The 
bears  and  those  who  had  sold  short  had  been  fighting 
this  rise  vigorously  and  confidently  believed  it  would  now 
fall  again,  when  in  the  early  afternoon  it  went  strongly 
tip  2  per  cent,  more,  and  later  in  th«  afternoon  touched 
141 — a  firm  advance  of  4  per  cent,  in  one  day,  in  the 
face  of  all  opposition  and  against  all  natural  causes. 
The  movement  puzzled  everybody  and  ruined  all  the 
small  "bbars."  The  Gold  Room  again  witnessed  scenes 
of  excitement  to  which  it  had  been  a  stranger  since  the 
critical  war  days.  Stocks  always  sympathize  with  a 
marked  change  in  gold,  moving  in  the  opposite  direction, 
and  on  this  day  the  excitement  and  fluctuations  in  the 
stock  market  were  even  more  surprising  than  the  advance 
in  gold.  New  York  Central  fell  22  per  cent,  ia  about 
as  many  minutes,  and  then  fluctuated  wildly  over  a 
range  of  8  or  10  per  cent,  through  the  remainder  of 
the  day.  Hudson  River  fell  13  per  cent,  and  other 
stocks  sympathized  hi  the  heavy  fall.  These  move- 
ments placed  dealers  in  great  straits.  Brokers  called 
on'  their  customers  to  increase  their  margins,  which 
the  day  had  wiped  out.  Money  became  very  tight  and 


DAY    OF    THE    BATTLE.  233 


brokers  had  to  pay  high  rates  to  get  their  balances 
earned  over  to  the  next  day.  The  vicinity  of  the  Stock 
Exchange  and  Gold  Room  was  crowded  till  a  much  later 
hour  than  usual,  and  a  throng  gathered  at  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Hotel  in  the  evening  to  discuss  the  events  of  the 
day,  compare  views,  and  to  buy  and  sell  on  their  belief  as 
to  what  the  morning  would  develop.  The  day  had  re- 

•  4_J7.        *..,»'-,  ,."•_..-!'  Cl~*  -   -  -  f        .;.'"*       v^i.  .  _   .*.  '«..OO 

vealed  the  existence  of  a  clique,  small  in  numbers  but 
very  powerful  and  unscrupulous,  in  conspiracy  for  a 
"  corner"  in  gold.  Inquiry  had  shown  the  "short" 
contracts  to  be  many  times  as  large  as  all  the  obtainable 
gold  in  New  York,  and  those  who  thus  found  themselves 
caught  well  knew  the  character  of  their  opponents. 
Appeals  had  been  made  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Trea_s- 
ury  to  relieve  the  situation  by  ordering  a  sale  of  Govern- 
ment gold  ;  but  he  regarded  it  as  a  struggle  between 
gamblers  and  refused  to  interfere.  But  the  shorts  be- 
lieved a  corner  in  gold  too  gigantic  a  move  to  bo  success- 
ful and  still  held  out.  "When  the  dealings  of  Thursday 
morning  opened  it  was  at  once  made  evident  that  the 
clique  was  in  the  ascendant,  for  gold  still  continued  to 
advance.  The  margins  that  had  been  increased  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  the  night  before  were  again  swept 
away  and  there  was  a  new  call  for  their  increase.  This 
was  beyond  the  power  of  all  but  the  very  strongest 
dealers.  All  the  small  and  medium  operators  were  either 
stranded  or  settled  their  obligations  on  the  best  terms 
they  conld,  foil  out  of  tho  rnr>1\s  and  became  observers 


'•2j»  .:U-;TAC  SB:  aa  T*.t  KH.* 

234  FIST  APPEARS  IN  THE  GOLD  BOOK, 

merely.  In  this  way  the  clique  gathered  rich  profits  this 
day.  They  laid  aside  their  masks  entirely  now  and  ap- 
peared boldly  in  the  most  intimidating  attitude.  The 
Gold  Room  was  crowded,  not  as  usual,  mostly  with  clerks 
and  mere  boys,  but  the  principals  themselves  of  all  the 
great  firms  appeared  in  the  arena  as  they  had  rarely  done 
before.  To  cap  the  climax  of  the  unusual,  James  Fisk, 
Jr.,  personally  appeared  in  the  Gold  Room  and  struck 
terror  into  the  bears  and  encouraged  the  bulls  to  push 
forward  by  offering  to  bet  any  part  of  $50,000  that  gold 
would  go  to  200,  and 'finding  no  one  to  take  the  offer. 
Everywhere  that  day  the  clique  bulled  gold  in  the  same 
braggadocio  way,  insinuating  that  the  Government  officials 
Were  interested  with  them  and  would  sell  no  Government 
gold  (the  only  hope  of  the  "bears")  and  informing  the 
"  shorts "  that  they  had  better  settle  up  or  higher  rates 
would  be  demanded.  The  wealthy  firms  only  still  defied 
the  clique.  This  was  a  day  of  excitement  and  running, 
of  alternating  hope  and  fear,  such  as  had  rarely  if  ever 
been  witnessed,  oven  in  the  times  of  the  war,  and  yet 
night  closed  upon  the  scene  with  the  agony  wholly  unre- 
lieved, with  gold  standing  at  144,  leaving  the  contending 
parties  to  another  midnight  session  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel  and  a  night  of  most  anxious  suspense. 

Friday,  September  24th,  1869,  the  sun  rose  bright 
and  beautiful  over  New  York,  and  its  rays  seemed 
to  fill  the  air  with  a  quietude  and  calm  as  if  in  mockery 
of  bustling,  greedy  men.  But  those  whose  treasure 


GATHtEIXG    07   THE    WUIBLWI5D.  235 

was  concerned  in  the  course  of  things  in  Wall  Street  that 
day  rose  with  no  heart  for  the  poetic  but  were  wholly 
absorbed  with  thoughts  of  what  the  day  would  bring 
forth  in  the  matter  of  their  fortune  and  hurried  to  the 
battle  field  to  be  ready  for  all  opportunities.  The  region 
of  the  Stock  Exchange  and  Gold  Boom  was  astir  at  a 
much  earlier  hour  than  usual.  The  boards  open  at  ten 
o'clock,  but  long  before  that  hour  on  this  day  all  the 
email  dealers  and  commission  brokers  were  on  the  scene, 
ready  and  anxious  to  improve  any  opportunity  that  might 
occur  for  outside  operations.  At  a  much  earlier  hour 
than  usual,  too,  came  the  young  "bloods"  who  drive 
down  grandly  in  their  dogcarts  with  liveried  footmen, 
and  the  dignified  gents  of  more  mature  years  in  their 
covpes.  That  the  scene  might  not  be  lacking  in  any 
of  its  proprieties,  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  came  driving  down 
and  turned  into  Broad  Street  in  company  with  two 
richly  attired  actresses,  one  of  them  chiefly  known  to 
fame  through  her  charms  as  displayed  in  "  Mazeppa " 
and  "The  French  Spy."  Long  Before  the  regular 
business  hour  the  greatest  excitement  prevailed,  for  the 
clique  had  already  displayed  unbroken  nerve  and  power 
and  turned  on  the  screws  another  relentless  stage,  and 
many  men  riding  down  in  their  carriages  were  mot  far 
up  Broadway  by  their  clerks  who  had  run  to  tell  th.em 
the  exciting  news  that  gold  was  going  at  152 !  But 
all  outside  dealings  and  quotations  are  apocryphal  and 
brokers  base  all  their  demands  for  margins  upon  the 


236  THE   FIRST  GEATTD   CHABGB. 

quotations  at  the  regular  board ;  so,  wildly  as  the  price 
might  fluctuate,  no  panic  could  come  till  tho  board 
opened  at  ten  .  o'clock.  When  this  hour  arrived,  New 
Street  and  every  passage  leading  to  the  Gold  Room 
was  completely  blocked  up  by  one  dense  mass  of 
humanity,  all  under  the  greatest  state  of  excitement. 
Inside  on  the  floor  were  gathered  all  the  great  dealers, 
or  as  many  as  could  be  packed  within  the  limited 
circle,  and  the  gallery  was  equally  crowded  with  men 
all  of  whose  worldly  fortunes  now  hung  tremblingly  in 
the  balance.  At  length  the  hour  of  ten  arrived,  the 
hammer  fell  and  the  board  opened.  The  yell  that  im- 
mediately went  up  in  the  contending  bids  rent  tho  air 
till  it  seemed  the  very  roof  must  be  lifted,  and  in  the 
din,  so  far  surpassing  all  that  had  over  been  heard 
there  before,  even  tho  trained  cars  could  hardly  distin- 
guish a  word.  In  a  moment,  however,  the  presiding 
officer  caught  and  recorded  tho  price  J  50 ! — six  per  cent, 
advance  on  the  highest  price  of  tho  day  before  !  A 
howl  went  up  from  the  crowd  insido  as  their  eyes 
caught  upon  the  indicator  and  was  promptly  taken  up 
and  echoed  by  the  greater  crowd  outside.  Such  a  man- 
ifestation of  strength  and  determination  on  tho  part 
of  the  clique  surprised  oven  those  who  knew  they  were 
powerful.  A  livid  pallor  spread  to  nearly  every  faco  and 
a  large  portion  of  tho  crowd  instantly  bolted  from  tho 
room,  tho  brokers  to  demand  a  renewal  of  margins,  tho 
operators  to  provide  for  the  demand  or  so'ttlb  on  tho  best 


THE   GOVERNMENT   IMPUGNED.  237 

terms  they  could  obtain,  many  of  both  classes  knowing 
tho  quotation  meant  their  entire  ruin. 

The  clique  and  their  agents  stood  ready  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  tho  panic.  "  Settle  up !"  they  cried,  "  or  a 
higher  rate  will  be  demanded  at  once.  The  Govern- 
ment is  with  us  and  wo  have  you  wholly  in  our  power." 
It  was  now  well  kqpwn  that  tho  short  interest  was 
about  $250,000,000  and  that  the  clique  themselves 
held  in  gold  and  contracts  for  delivery  something  like 
$120,000,000,  while  all  tho  current  gold  in  New  York 
'dktfa  bo  scarcely  more  than  $20,000,000.  The  situa- 
tion, therefore,  looked  very  much  as  though  tho  corner 
was  .perfected  and  a  success.  Tho  Government  alone 
could  break  it  by  tho  sale  of  gold  held  in  tho  sub- 
treasury,  but  tho  deaf  ear  which  had  been  turned  to 
all  appeals  to  Washington,  if  they  did  not  confirm  the 
boast  of  tho  clique  that  the  Washington  authorities  were 
interested  with  them,  at  least  destroyed  all  hope  of  relief 
from  that  quarter.  Under  these  circumstances,  many 
who  could  do  so  without  failing  settled  up,  and  many 
more  cither  from  choice  or  necessity  failed  to  settle  or 
increase  their  margins  and  failed.  Tho  clique  _  having 
gathered  all  they  could  from  their  first  assault,  and  many 
still  holding  out  and  bidding  them  defiance,  they  gave  the 
screws  another  merciless  turn,  and  at  about  11  o'clock 
gold  made  another  bound  upward,  and  tho  indicator 
marked  155  !  Another  fierce  yell  went  up  inside  the 
Gold  Boom,  and  ran  through  the  surging  mass  of  human* 


"TO   SHE  QOE3." 


ity  now  packing  the  streets  outside.  Men !  Could  these  be 
rational  men  ?  Faces  marked  with  an  unearthly  pallor 
and  expression,  eyes  glaring  wildly,  hands  and  arms 
gesticulating  frantically,  voices  screeching  to  the  utmost 
power  of  the  lungs  and  hoarse  from  continued  exertion, 
it  was  a  spectacle  4hat  beggars  all  description  and  cannot 
be  even  faintly  imagined  by  those  who  have  never  wit- 
nessed the  doings  of  this  class  of  men.  No  boys  or  mere 
clerks  wore  there  to-day.  They  had  disappeared  two 
days  before,  their  space  being  wanted  by  the  older  mejj 
.and  the  heads  of  the  great  firms.  Prominent  in  the  firpjg 
around  the  fountain,  to-day,  was  Albert  Speyers,  a  Ger- 
man Jew,  a  large  man  now  past  the  middle  of  life,  with  a 
long  record  as  a  prominent  and  wealthy  dealer  in  both 
stocks  and  gold.  Ho  was  now  the  leader  of  the  bull 
clique,  bidding  the  price  up  to  the  highest  point  every 
moment,  and  buying  in  untold  quantities,  and  acting  like 
a  mad  man.  William  Heath,  the  head  of  an  old,  wealthy 
and  most  respectable  firm,  was  also  there,  acting  with  the 
bulls  and  bidding  in  person.  The-  great  house  of  Brown 
Brothers  was  also  represented  by  one  of  the  firm  in  person, 
and  the  room,  was  now  filled,  with  only  the  members  of 
the  wealthiest  and  most  powerful  firms.  When  the  price 
went  to  155,  "  Settle  up  !"  cried  Fisk  and  the  rest  of  the 
clique.  "  Never  !  do  your  worst !"  was  the  defiant 
response  of  the  great  firms  who  were  still  able  to  hold 
out  and  did  not  believe  a  corner  in  gold  possible.  "  Up 
she  goes,  then !"  threatened  Fisk,  and  at  half-past  eleven 


THE   LAST   MEBCILESS   CHA.BGX.  239 

the  indicator  jumped  to  160  !  It  rested  there  but  a 
moment  and  then  pushed  up  to  162,  and  for  a  moment 
touched  164  !  Speyera  was  buying  by  the  million  at  a 
bid,  al  »rays  bidding  the  highest  price,  and  William  Heath 
bid  for  a  million  nt  160.  The  men  in  the  room  and  on 
the  street,  had  already  reached  the  highest  possible  state 
of  excitement  and  confusion  under  the  previous  advances, 
and  this  last  upward  movement  served  onlyvto  keep  them 
up  to  that  degree  of  nervous  tension  which  cannot  be 
long  maintained  without  new  stimulant.  All  were  now 
rushing  wildly  about  in  apparent  desperation,  and  the 
braggart  declaration  of  Fisk  the  day  before  that  gold 
would  go  to  200  seemed  likely  to  be  made  good.  Loud 
imprecations  against  the  clique  were  now  rife  upon  the 
street,  and  had  any  of  them  appeared  they  would  not  un- 
likely have  answered  with  their  lives.  But  they  were 
conscious  of  their  danger,  carefully  avoided  the  crowd  and 
were  strongly  guarded  from  any  attack  that  might  be 
made  upon  them. 

In  the  midst  of  the  greatest  excitement,  when  gold 
was  vibrating  between  160  and  164,  a  messenger  arrived 
in  the  Gold  Room  with  the  news  "  tlte  Government  is 
selling  gold!"  "How  much?"  was  quickly  inquired. 
"  Fifteen  millions  /"  was  the  prompt  reply,  and  instantly 
the  boars  bounded  as  au  army  bounds  when  a  mine  is 
exploded  beneath  it.  A  thrill  spread  as  if  by  an  electric 
current  and  in  less  than  one  minute  gold  fell  to  135! 
Albert  Speyers  attempted  to  fill  the  breach  and  maintain 

...       :»r  ft      ,:   •->  * 


240  AN    INFERNO. 

an  unbroken  front  by  boldly  bidding  for  a  million  at  160. 
The  offer  was  instantly  snatched  at  by  a  hundred  bears, 
and  the  foolish  effort  was  vain.  Gold  had  gone  down 
like  a  plummet  dropped  in  the  ocean — 30  per  cent,  in  a 
minute  and  could  not  be  rallied.  Speyers  fell  back  in  the 
crowd  in  entire  nervous  exhaustion.  The  wand  of  the 
clique  was  hopelessly  broken,  the  most  daring  gold  plot 
the  world  has  ever  known  was  defeated,  and  the  great 
crisis  was  at  an  end. 

But  relief  from  the  death  grip  of  the  clique  and  the 
shock  of  active  battle  only  gave  the  first  opportunity  to 
survey  the  field  and  realize  how  wide-spread  and  disas- 
trous the  conflict  had  been.  The  agony  and  heart  sick- 
ness was  increased  rather  than  diminished  by  the  cessation 
of  the  excitement  of  the  Gold  Room,  for  it  seemed  that 
disaster  and  ruin  had  gone  everywhere,  or  at  least  no  one 
was  sure  how  he  should  stand  when  the  day'a  score  was 
settled.  Numerous  failures  were  reported  and  it  was 
certain  others  would  speedily  follow.  Everywhere  around 
Broad,  Wall  and  New  Streets,  and  Exchange  Place, 
crowds  were  gathered  discussing  incidents  and  reporting 
news  ;  faces  were  ashy  pale,  eyes  were  wild  with  excite- 
ment, countenances  vividly  portrayed  the  greatest  anxiety, 
and  frequent  resorts  to  Delmonico's  was  the  only  means 
by  which  many  sustained  the  severe  draft  upon  their 
nerves.  The  spectacle  was  one  such  as  Dante  might  have 
seen  in  Inferno  and  was  more  wretched  than  any  ho  has 
described.  Those  whose  dealings  had  been  on  the  winning 


KTTTKED    HOMES.  241 

ride  felt  but  little  safer  or  more  contented  than  those  who 
had  lost,  for  those  to  whom  they  had  sold  gold  might  fail 
and  be  unablo  to  take  it  and  then  it  would  entail  loss 
where  there  had  seemed  to  be  gain.  In  not  a  few  cases 
men  who  had  bought  gold  at  something  above  140 
sold  at  about  160  and,  had  the  dealings  been  cleared 
in  the  ordinary  way,  would  have  made  a  very  hand- 
some fortune;  but  the  parties  to  whom  they  sold  failed 
and  could  not  take  the  gold,  so  it  came  back  upon  their 
hands  when  they  could  only  get  183  for  it._  So  large  had 
been  the  dealings  that  the  Gold  Exchange  had  not  yet 
been  able  to  foot  up  and  settle  Thursday's  transactions,  so 
all  was  doubt  and  uncertainty  and  the  shadow  of  disaster 
brooded  over  all  Wall  Street  and  its  ramifications.. 

Affairs  were  in  this  unsettled  and  nerve-disturbing  state 
when  the  afternoon  hour  arrived  and  it  was  time  to 
think  of  home.  That  thought  brought  to  many  their  first 
full  realization  of  the  day's  disaster.  Home !  How  many 
could  not  bear  think  of  home  now  !  How  many  now  first 
fully  realized  what  they  had  staked  upon  the  fortunes  of 
the  day.  Many  who  had  left  happy  homes,  and  not  a  few 
who  had  been  lordly  owners  of  the  most  elegant  resi- 
dences ou  the  Hudson  or  the  Sound  in  the  morning,  must 
now  return  at  evening  to  meet  wife  and  children,  feeling 
that  those  homes  were  no  longer  theirs,  ruin  and  penury 
staring  them  in  the  face.  The  disaster  which  the  clique 
had  spread  was  now  fully  felt  and  so  great  was  the  indig- 
nation against  them  that  they  secured  safety  only  by  con- 


242         BARRICADED  AT  THE  OPERA  HOUSE. 

cealment.  Early  in  the  day  Fisk  had  fled  1he  'scene  and 
was  securely  barricaded  in  the  Grand  Opera  House.  The 
doors  of  Jay  Gould's  office  were  guarded  by  a  ftrong 
force  of  police  and  no  one  could  gain  admission.  The  day 
closed  upon  such  a  scene  as  was  never  before  witnessed 
in  Wall  Street  and  probably  may  never  be  again.  Its 
habitues  lingered  in  its  haunts  much  later  than  usual,  as 
if  unable  to  faco  home,  and  in  the  evening  gas-lights  were 
detected  in  many  offices  where  they  had  never  been  seen 
before,  so  eager  were  men  to  balance  their  accounts  and, 
if  possible,  gain  some  idea  how  they  stood.  The  spectacle 
of  agonized  hearts  and  countenances  was  continued  in  the 
evening  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel  and  surpassed  anything 
that  had  ever  been  witnessed  there.  Threats  against  Fisk 
and  his  fellow  conspirators  were  frequent,  and  a  spectacle 
of  men  suffering  greater  mental  torment  could  not  be. 

When  the  Wall  Street  men  gathered  in  their  places 
Saturday  morning  a  calmer  feeling  prevailed,  but  the 
utter  wretchedness  of  the  situation  was  still  more  clearly 
depicted  in  their  faces.  It  was  like  surveying  the  ruins 
the  next  morning  after  a  great  fire  has  swept  across  a 
whole  region  and  left  only  charred  remains  and  crumbled 
walla  where  yesterday  stood,  stately  buildings.  The  Gold 
Exchange  Bank  had  been  unable  to  get  the  figures  even 
of  Thursday's  business  arranged  as  yet,  so  no  clearance 
of  the  gold  dealings  could  be  hoped  for  and  no  one  could 
determine  how  his  affairs  stood.  New  failures  were  re- 
ported and  the  gloom  thickened.  The  Gold  Board  met 


THK  GOLD  KXCHA5QE  BAKK.  243 

but  without  doing  any  business  adjourned  till  Monday  to 
give  tho  Gold  Exchange  time  to  arrange  the  accounts  and 
effect  the  clearances,  and  this  produced  a  more  contented 
feeling. 

The  Gold  Exchange  Bank  increased  its  force  of  clerks 
and  kept  them  all  busily  at  work  through  the  night  and 
as  constantly  as  their  physical  powers  would  permit ;  yet 
Monday  morning  came  and  found  the  bank  unprepared 
to  discharge  its  duties  or  give  any  relief  to  the  situation, 
not  even  Thursday's  accounts  having  been  straightened. 
Men  had  gone  to  their  homes  on  Saturday  in  tho  full 
confidence  that  when  they  returned  again  the  bank  would 
be  ready  to  effect  the  clearances  and  the  situation  would 
then  be  fully  known  at  least  and  men  would  be  able  to 
know  how  they  were  coming  put.  The  disappointment 
was  therefore  very  bitter  and  rumors  began  to  prevail 
that  the  bank  itself  Avas  involved.  The  situation  seemed 
helpless  under  the  circumstances  and  no  one  knew  what 
to  do.  Several  meetings  of  the  Gold  Board  were  held, 
and  numerous  propositions  were  made,  but  they  finally 
adjourned  to  give  the  bank  one  more  opportunity  of 
clearing  the  obstruction,  thus  entailing  one  more  night  of 
anxious  suspense"  upon  those  whose  operations  were 
bound  up  by  the  delay  in  the  clearing  house.  Tuesday 
morning  found  things  in  no  better  condition  at  the  Gold 
Exchange  Bank,  and  those  whose  action  was  fettered  by 
this  b lockup  were  now  almost  desperate.  The  murmurs 
against  the  bank  and  the  imputations  upon  its  solvency 


244  HOPE,    DISAPPOINTMENTS,    PANIC. 

and  good  faith,  were  now  loud  and  numerous.  The 
Gold  Board  met  and  it  was  now  felt  that  something 
must  bo  done,  independent  of  Iho  Gold  Exchange  to 
settle  the  balances  for  Friday's  dealings,  as  that  institu- 
tion had  proved  its  inability  to  do  so.  Various  plans 
were  suggested  tut  none  of  them  seemed  practicable  or 
satisfactory  till  it  was  announced  that  the  Bank  of  Now 
York  would  undertake  to  act  as  a  clearing  house  for  Fri- 
day's transactions.  This  announcement  was  hailed  with 
joy  and  promised  relief  at  last.  The  brokers  immediately 
made  out  their  statements  and  handed  them  in  to  the 
bank,  and  early  in  tho  afternoon  clerks  began  to  gather 
at  the  bank  to  get  tho  balances  of  their  firms  settled. 
Tho  line  formed  and  grow  rapidly  till  it  extended  out  of 
the  building  into  tho  street  and  then  far  up  tho  sidewalk 
on  Wall  Street.  Tho  bank  officers  and  clerks  had  been 
busily  at  work  but  tho  business  was  new  to  them  and 
when  they  realized  tho  vast  volume  of  work  to  be  done 
they  became  discouraged  at  once  and  saw  they  had 
undertaken  a  task  they  could  not  perform.  Great  as 
was  tho  mortification  and  disastrous  as  they  know  the 
consequence  would  bo  upon  tho  Street,  they  therefore, 
at  half  past  two,  announced  their  utter  inability  to  effect 
tho  clearances  and  discontinued  tho  work.  The  instant 
effect  of  this  announcement  was  a  new  panic.  Distrust 
now  spread  everywhere.  Now  York  Central  dropped  at 
once  to  145,  completing  a  fall  of  73  per  cent,  in  a  few 
days.  A  -great,  universal  crash  seemed  imminent.  A 


1HB  COMMITTEE   OF  TWEflTt.  245 

new  meeting  of  the  Gold  Board  was  held  and  after  many 
propositions,  a  committee  of  twenty  was  appointed  to 
settle  Friday's  business.  New  hope  caught  upon  this 
move  and  it  looked  as  though  the  end  of  the  agony  would 
now  soon  be  reached.  The  apartments  of  the  banking 
house  of  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  corner  of  Wall  and  Nassau 
Streets,  were  placed  at  the  service  of  the  committee,  and 
they  went  immediately  to  their  work.  Brokers  handed 
in  their  statements  and  went  home  confident  that  the 
committee  would  straighten  matters  and  afford  relief  by 
morning.  Alt  night  long  the  committee  and  their  clerks 
worked  busily  and  made  excellent  progress  in  effecting 
the  balances.  Only  ono  difficulty  hampered  them— one  or 
two  firms  had  failed  to  hand  in  their  statements.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  evening  those  firms  had  promised  to  have 
their  statements  in  by  ton  o'clock,  but  this  they  failed  to 
do,  making  a  new  promise  that  they  should  certainly  be 
in  early  in  the  morning.  With  this  the  committee  were 
contented  and  pushed  forward  with  the  other  statements. 
Morning  came,  but  one  of  the  statements  still  lingered. 
The  hour  for  the  meeting  of  the  Gold  Board  came  and 
one  of  tho  committee  went  down  to  report  progress.  He 
represented  that  they  wore  very  much  encouraged,  had 
nearly  completed  all  tho  accounts,  and  as  soon  as  they  had 
one  more  statement,  which  they  were  promised  soon,  all 
the  details  would  bo  arranged  and  the  settlements  could 
go  forward.  This  produced  a  favorable  effect  and  the 
members  scattered,  feeling  that  their  difficulties  would  be 


246  CXAMOES    FOR   LYNCH    LAW. 

relieved  before  the  day  was  over.  At  two  o'clock  the 
Gold  Board  met  again  and  the  member  of  the  committee 
came  in  to  make  a  further  report.  He  was  evidently  very 
deeply  moved  and  he  was  listened  to  in  impressive  silence 
as  lie  announced  that  the  one  dilatory  statement  had  not 
been  handed  in,  that  the  committee  were  satisfied  the 
firm  did  not  intend  to  hand  it  in,  and  that  without  it  they 
could  not  go  on  or  effect  any  relief  of  the  situation.  He 
announced  the  delinquent  firm  to  bo  Jay  Gould's.  The 
members  were  almost  frantic  at  this  announcement  of  the 
conduct  of  that  firm,  and  shouted  "  Hang  them !  Lynch 
them  !  "  It  was  felt  the  firm  were  prolonging  the  troubles 
perposely  to  profit  by  the  situation.  But  nothing  could 
be  done.  The  committee  was  discharged  and  the  board 
thrown  back  upon  its  wits  to  get  out  of  the  difficulty. 
The  Gold  Exchange  Bank  had  now  been  placed  in  tb« 
hands  of  a  receiver  and  the  situation  had  become  sadly 
complicated. 

The  gloom  of  this  day  was  greatly  deepened  by  the 
announcement  of  the  failure  of  the  great  firm  of  Lock- 
wood  &  Co.  It  was  a  firm  of  thirty  years'  standing  and 
with  many  millions  of  capital.  They  were  largely  loaded 
with  western  railroad  stocks  and  the  great  sudden  decline 
had  swamped  them. 

By  a  rule  of  the  board,  if  a  member  fails,  his  gold,  if 
;he  has  any  with  the  bank,  may  be  sold  and  applied  to  his 
accounts,  and  if  he  is  indebted,  a  purchase  is  made  for 
forms  sake  to  meet  Ids  account,  and  the  loss  adjusted 


AT  LAST.  247 


among  his  creditors.  Under  this  rule  it  was  now  proposed 
to  sell  out  the  account  of  Jay  Gould's  firm  and  then  settle 
the  other  accounts.  To  block  this  more  an  injunction  was 
obtained  by  the  firm  forbidding  any  such  sale,  and  the 
board  was  once  more  at  a  stand  still.  It  was  now  decided 
that  each  dealer  must  settle  his  Friday's  dealings  by  him- 
self in  the  mercantile  way,  without  any  reference  to  a 
clearing  house  or  dealing  by  balances.  Injunctions 
against  this  mode  of  settlement  were  issued  against  all  the 
firms  with  which  Jay  Gould's  firm  had  had  any  dealings  j 
and  as  the  Stock  Exchange  had  voted  to  deal  in  gold  and 
had  a  regulation  similar  to  the  Gold  Board  about  selling 
out  the  accounts  of  delinquents,  an  injunction  was  also 
served  upon  the  Stock  Exchange  forbidding  their  selling 
out  the  accounts  of  delinquents.  And  in  this  manner 
matters  were  now  tied  up.  But  the  brokers  went  forward 
settling  their  own  accounts  with  each  other.  Soon  Jay  • 
Gould  showed  a  willingness  to  fall  in  with  the  arrange- 
ment, and  thus,  after  about  ten  days,  matters  were 
restored  to  their  usual  state,  the  injunctions  were  re- 
moved, and  business  went  on. 

The  great  gold  plot  was  ended  and  though  it  had  made 
skeletons  thicker  in  Wall  Street  than  any  other  event  had 
ever  done  yet  it  had  been  substantially  a  failure  even  for 
its  originators.  The  arch  conspirator,  the  originator  of 
the  plot,  was  Jay  Gould.  He  commenced  plotting  the 
scheme  early  in  the  summer,  and  at  first  boldly  designed 
and  attempted  to  get  the  Government  implicated  with  him, 


248  THB    PLOT. 

or  at  least  committed  to  a  non-interference  with  his  plot. 
Tho  ovening  Gen.  Grant  was  a  passenger  on  the  Fisk  line 
of  steamers  on  his  way  to  the  Boston  Peace  Jubilee,  in 
June,  ho  was  surrounded  by  Gould,  Fisk  and  several 
of  their  friends  .and  the  conversation  was  turned  to  the 
financial  policy  of  the  Government.  Gould,  Fisk  and 
others  earnestly  maintained  that  the  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment ought  to  be  to  keep  gold  high  during  the  fall,  while 
the  crops  were  being  moved,  that  the  farmers  and  pro- 
ducers might  get  a  good  price  for  their  crops  and  the 
business  of  the  country  generally  bo  kept  in  a  flourishing 
condition.  And  for  this  purpose,  it  was  argued,  the 
Government  should  cease  its  monthly  sales  of  gold,  an- 
nounce that  it  would  appear  no  more  as  a  seller  of  coin, 
and  pursue  a  policy  looking  to  a  rise.  The  specious  rea- 
soning was  listened  to  carefully,  but  the  President  in  no 
wise  committed  himself.  A  letter  advocating  the  same 
views,  written  by  Mr.  James  McHenry,  was  extensively 
circulated  and  wont  the  rounds  of  the  press  under  Mr. 
Gould's  manipulations.  The  first  attempt  to  get  some 
reliable  impression  as  to  what  the  policy  of  the  President 
would  be  having  entirely  failed,  it  was  resolved  to  ask 
him  the  question  directly.  To  perform  this  brazen  office 
of  course  Gould  selected  Mr.  Fisk.  A  few  weeks  later 
when  the  President  was  on  his  way  to  Long  Branch  on 
one  occasion,  Mr.  Fisk  went  down  to  the  boat,  approached 
the  President  and  boldly  told  him  that  he  and  Mr.  Gould 
would  like  a  little  private  information  as  to  the  future 


TIIE    PRESIDENT    APPROACHED.  249 

intention  of  the  Government  in  the  matter  of  gold.  Gen. 
Grant  quietly  asked  Mr.  Fisk  if  he  thought  it  right  that 
they  should  be  furnished  with  such  private  information. 
Mr.  -Fisk  is  very  quick  "to  read  men,  and  seeing  from  the 
President's  manner  and  the  nature  of  his  interrogative 
answer  that  the  desired  information  could  not  be  had,  he 
madfe  a  virtue  of  necessity,  admitting  that  it  would  not  be 
fair,  and  gracefully  retired.  • 

Foiled  in  these  direct  attempts  upon  the  very  fountain- 
head  of  authority,  Mr.  Gould  resolved  to  work  indirectly 
and  get  information  at  second  hand — any  way  to  get  the 
President  committed  and  secure  the  desired  point.  For 
this  purpose  recourse  was  now  had  to  Abel  E.  Corbin, 
General  Grant's  brother-in-law.  lie  seems  to  have  been 
an  exceedingly  weak,  superannuated  man,  and  he  fell  in 
with  Mr.  Gould's  plans  and  wishes  altogether  too  readily 
for  a  hopeful  subject.  He  was  eager  to  join  the  gold  plot, 
was  sure  it  could  be  carried  out  successfully,  and  repre- 
sented that  he  was  privy  to  all  the  plans  of  the  President 
and  could  find  out  all  they  wished  to  know,  even  if  he 
could  not  himself  control  the  policy  of  the  Government  on 
the  gold~question  through  his  great  influence  over  General 
Grant.  Though  a  little  suspicious  of  such  ready  eager- 
ness and.  such  grand  claims  to  influence,  Gould  made  u>e 
of  this  tool  as  the  best  to  bo  had  under  the  circumstances. 
In  his  frequent  passages  through  New  York,  of  course  the 
President  was  several  times  at  the  house  of  his  brother-in- 
law  during  the  summer,  and  Corbin  represented  that  he 


250  MiSEKTERS, 

had  got  the  President  all  right  in  the  matter  of  favoring 
the  plan  of  keeping  gold  high  while  the  crops  were 
moving  and  that  Government  would  not  interfere  with 
their  plans  or  break  their  ring  by  selling  gold.  A  new 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  had  to  be  appointed 
for  New  York,  and  the  securing  of  this  place  for  General 
Butterfield  seemed  partially  to  confirm  Corbin's  repre- 
sentations as  to  influence  and  assure  Gould  that  his  tool 
was  worthy  of  some  reliance.  Under  these  circumstances 
Gould  with  W.  S.  Woodard  and  Arthur  Kimber,  who 
were  with  him  in  the  plot  for  a  corner,  made  their  first 
heavy  purchases  of  gold.  The  Government  made  the 
usual  monthly  sales  of  gold  in  August  and  September. 
This  greatly  weakened  Gould's  reliance  upon  Corbin, 
still  Gen.  Butterfield,  the  new  assistant  treasurer,  was 
speculating  in  gold,  looking  to  an  advance,  and  the 
chances  were  that  the  Government  would  not  interfere 
with  the  plot  by  ordering  an  extra  sale  to  break  a  corner. 
The  purchases  were  pushed  forward,  and  after  falling 
from  137  (near  which  the  clique  had  made  some  heavy 
purchases),  to  131,  it  rallied  and  went  up  to  141,  Wed- 
nesday, Sept.  22d.  At  this  point  Woodard  and  Kimber, 
having  lost  faith  in  the  success  of  the  more  daring  scheme 
of  a  perfect  corner,  sold  out  their  gold  and  retired  from 
the  clique.  Fisk  had  not  thus  far  had  much  to  do  with 
the  matter,  but  Gould  being  now;  alarmed  by  the  deser- 
tion of  his  confederates  and  having  but  little  faith  in 
Corbin,  was  in  desperate  need  of  some  man  of  tremen- 


insx  TO  THE  RESCUE.  251 

dous  nerve  and  boldness  to  come  to  his  rescue,  and  Fisk 
came  in  to  fill  the  breach  and  made  his  public  appearance 
in  the  Gold  Room  on  Thursday.  Fisk's  own  characteristic 
and  poetic  description  of  his  advent  in  the  affair  -was : 
"When  Gould  found  himself  loaded  down  to  the  gun- 
wales and  likely  to  go  under,  the  cussed  fellow  never  said 
a  word.  He's  too  proud  for  that.  But  I  saw  him  tearing 
up  bits  of  paper,  and  when  Gould  snips  off  corners  of 
newspapers  and  tears  'em  up  in  bits,  I  knew  there  was 
trouble.  Then  I  came  in  to  help.  He  knows  I'd  go  my 
bottom  dollar  on  him,  and  I  said  to  him,  Look  here,  old 
fellow  !  When  I  was  a  boy  on  a  farm  in  Vermont,  I'vo 
seen  the  old  man  go  out  to  yoke  up  Buck  and  Brindle ; 
heM  lift  the  heavy  yoke  on  to  Brindle's  neck,  key  the  bow 
and  then,  holding  up  the  other  end,  motion  to  old  Buck 
to  come  under,  and  old  Buck  would  back  off  and  off,  and 
sometimes  before  he  could  persuade  him  under,  the  yoke 
would  get  too  heavy  for  dad.  And  Gould,  old  fellow, 
Wall  Street  won't  be  persuaded  and  the  yoke  is  getting 
heavy,  and  here  I  am  to  give  you  a  lift." 

It  was  determined  to  push  boldly  forward  in  the  at- 
tempt at  a  corner  and  at  the  same  time  guard  this  move 
by  resorting  to  another  trick  so  that  even  if  the  Govern- 
ment should  sell  gold  to  break  the  corner  the  clique  could 
yet  save  themselves.  This  supplementary  trick  was  for 
two  or  three  dealers  of  little  means  but  good  credit  to  buy 
heavily  and  keep  forcing  the  price  up,  while  other  mem- 
bers of  the  clique  would  sell  heavily  at  the  high  prices 


252  BEK7DI1.TIXG   CONTRACTS. 

thus  created ;  then  if  the  corner  failed  and  a  panic  sent 
the  price  down,  those  of  the  clique  who  had  bought  the 
enormous  sums  would  fail  aud  bo  unable  to  keep  their 
contracts  and  so  lose  little  or  nothing,  while  those  who 
had  sold  to  responsible  men  at  the  high  rates  would 
make  enormous  sums,  and  the  clique  could  then  divide 
the  spoil  among  the  members.  This  is  the  explanation 
of  Albert  Speyers  and  Belden  buying  at  160  or  above 
when  Gould  was  selling  at  about  150.  Speyers  failed 
on  contracts  for  $47,000,000  and  Belden  on  contracts 
for  $50,000,000. 

After  the  collapse  Fisk  repudiated  large  numbers  of 
purchases  made  on  his  account  at  the  high  prices,  saying 
they  wero  unauthorized,  but  insisted  on  the  execution 
of  all  sales  made  for  him.  Many  suits  for  large  sums 
wero  brought  against  him  to  enforce  the  contract  of  pur- 
chases made  by  his  brokers  and  the  Grand  Opera  House 
property  was  attached  in  the  proceedings.  The  suits 
have  been  worried  through  a  year  and  a  half  of  delay 

and  no  decision  or  trial  has  yet  been  obtained  by  the 

,  .  ,.«. 
plaintiffs. 

*'•  ''III       •'"•  "'I.!1-      '          L-        1»         '  .          ,' 

For  quite  a  time  after  the  panic  Mr.  Fisk  remained 
closely  barricaded  in  the  Grand  Opera  House,  at  first 
because  of  the  threats  against  him,  afterwards  to  avoid 
being  served  with  papers  in  the  suits  commenced  against 
him.  During  this  time  the  whole  region  of  the  Opera 
House  was  kept  under  complete  espionage.  If  any  one 

was  seen  standing  about  near  there  with  no   apparent 

•'-  -  '         '        ' 


"QOJTE  WHERE  THE  WOODBINE  TWHTETH."         253 

business,  or  looking  up  at  the  Opera  House  -windows  and 
doors,  ho  was  immediately  approached  by  a  small  squad 
of  Mr.  Fisk's  minions  and  warned  to  take  the  next  car  up 
or  down  town  or  quit  the  vicinity  at  once — a  warning 
which  tho  recipient  .invariably  deemed  it  wise  to  heed. 
In  this  way  the  service  of  legal  documents  was  eluded 
for  a  long  time. 

Soon  after  tho  collapse  and  when  his  part  in  the 
affair  leaked  out,  Mr.  Corbin  was  suddenly  non  est,  and 
was  rumored  to  have  gone  to  Kentucky.  Some  allusion 
to  his  whereabouts  being  made  in  Mr.  Fisk's  presence, 
he  made  the  characteristic  remark  that  enjoyed  a  nine 
days'  celebrity — "  He's  gone  where  tho  woodbine  twin- 
eth." 

The  most  persistent  and  scandalous  efforts  were  made 
to  implicate  tho  President  in  the  gold  speculation.  All 
tho  haberdasher  bills  and  private  notes  of  Mrs.  Grant 
for  tho  months  proceeding  were  pried  into  to  give  color- 
ing to  the  insinuation,  but  all  in  vain.  Congress 
appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  tho  charge  and  it 
was  proven  to  be  utterly  baseless.  Fisk,  Gould  and 
Corbin  were  examined  by  the  committee.  Corbin  said 
that  when  ho  went  to  the  Opera  House,  after  tho  panic, 
Fist  said  to  him,'  "  0,  Gould  has  sunk  right  down  under 
it.  You  won't  seo  anything  left  of  him  but  a  pair  of  eyes 
and  a  suit  of  clothes.'' 


CHAPTER 


TUB  COLONEL  —  THE  GALLANT  NINTH  —  THE  FIRST  MOONLIGHT 
r.VHADE  -  THE  TWELVE  TEMPTATIONS  AND  A  BUTTEE  BILL 
-  IN  CAMP  AT  LONG  BRANCH  —  AT  BUNKER  HILL  —  SENSA- 
TION AMONG  THE  PURITANS. 


In  the  latter  part  of  March,  1870,  rumors  began  to 
circulate  in  New  York  that  the  many-sided  Mr.  Fisk 
was  about  to  create  another  new  sensation  and  appear 
in  still  another  entirely  new  role- — that  of  Colonel  of  the 
Ninth  Regiment  National  Guard  State  of  Now  York. 
At  first  tho  journalists  treated  the  rumor  as  a  jest  and 
ridiculed  the  idea  as  they  ridiculed  the  idea  of  the  Boston 
Peace  Jubilee  a  year  before.  And  the  members  of  the 
National  Guard  especially  scouted  the  story  as  too  absurd 
for  anything  but  a  laugh,  deeming  it  impossible  that  a 

regiment  with  such  an  excellent  war  record  would  be 

.-.-  'j  ;  ••  'K«.-;  f>  *-'O  «i  'i.  -^  *T--'i  'oLi:Uj  •'.''•'•  ' 

guilty  of  such  a  breach  of  esprit  de  corps  as  to  go  outside 

of  its  own  organization  and  select  a  civilian,  and  one  of 
Mr".  Fisk's  character,  for  its  commander.  But  confirma- 
tion followed  upon  rumor  so  speedily  that  the  news  soon 


HIS   ELECTION.  255 

ceased  to  be  regarded  as  a  jest  and  on  the  7th.  of  April  all 
doubts  in  the  matter  were  put  at  rest  by  his  election,    .-.u 

The  regiment  was  not  in  a  flourishing  condition,  either 
in  numbers  or  financially,  and  the  rank  and  file  were 
very  desirous  of  adopting  some  means  of  filling  their 
ranks  and  their  treasury  and  securing  for  their  organiza- 
tion a  prominent  standing  in  the  National  Guard.  The 
readiest  and  easiest  means  of  accomplishing  this  purpose 
seemed  to  be  to  capture  Admiral  Fisk  and  transfer  him 
from  the  navy  to  the  land  forces  as  their  Colonel.  The 
Admiral  did  not  at  all  object  to  being  thus  captured,  but 
on  the  contrary  seemed  on  what,  at  a  Methodist  prayer- 
meeting,  would  be  called  the  "  anxious  seat." 

Lieut-Colonel  Braine,  a  most  excellent  officer  who  had 
served  with  the  regiment  through  the  war,  was  first 
elected  to  fill  the  vacant  Colonelcy.  He  was  by  every  con- 
sideration entitled  to  the  place  and  in  every  way  worthy 
of  it.  The  commissioned  officers  felt  this  and  could  not 
disregard  his  claims,  but  his  election  seemed  a  great  .dis- 
appointment to  the  privates.  They  loved  and  honored  him, 
but  they  had  set  their  hearts  upon  the  Prince  of  Erie  as 
the  one  man  who  could  speedily  lift  them  over  all  their 
difficulties  into  a  flourishing  condition  and  give  them  the 
most  good  times.  In  deference  to  what  was  thus  known 
to  be  the  desire  of  his  men,  Colonel  Braine  immediately 
resigned  his  new  office,  was  reflected  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
and  Admiral  1'isk  was  elected  Colonel. 

Tha  event  created  no  little,  surprise  in  military  oirclei 


256 


and  was  variously  commented  on  by  the  press.  Many 
surmises  were  indulged  as  to  the  remote  designs  and  con- 
sequences of  this  ne\v  move,  some  affecttng  to  see  in  it  a 
scheme  of  dark  portent  and  a  determination  to  have  a 
band  of  reliable  men  ready  at  command  in  the  event  of  an- 
other affair  like  the  Albany  &  Susquehanna  railroad  war. 
To  be  the  subject  of  such  absurd  suspicion  is  the  price  Mr. 
Fisk  has  to  pay  for  the  character  he  has  achieved.  In 
seeking  the  Colonelcy  of  the  Ninth  he  merely  had  the  same 
ambition  that  any  other  man  would  have  and  sought  it 
for  the  opportunity  it  gave  him  of  gratifying  the  desire  of 
being  conspicuous  and  making  a  sensation  which  he  had 
already  manifested  in  so  many  other  ways. 

Though  he  had  never  had  any  experience  in  military 
matters,  not  even  to  play  soldier  with  broomstick  and 
paper  chapeau  when  a  boy,  he  assumed  his  new  charge 
with  an  unhesitating  confidence,  thinking  there  was  not 
much  in  its  requirements  beyond  a  uniform  and  a  sword. 
At  his  first  meeting  with  his  command  ho  freely  ventilated 
his  ideas  on  tho  military  art  and  the  needs  of  the  regi- 
ment and  at  once  announced  his  intentions  and  will  in  an 
imperious  tone.  The  regiment  mustered  something  loss 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  when  they  first  assembled 
to  receive  their  new  Colonel.  Feeling  that  money  was 
tho  great  motive  power  here  as  elsewhere,  ho  immediately 
offered  a  prizo  of  $500  for  the  company  that  would  secure 
tho  greatest  number  of  recruits  by  tho  1st  of  July.  There 
was  one  letter  in  the  regiment  wholly  vacant  A  new 


TEE   PIBST   MOONLIGHT    PARADE.  257 

company  was  immediately  organized  to  fill  this  vacant 
letter  and  constituted  the  special  Fisk  Guard.  Recruiting 
went  briskly  forward  and  so  many  of  the  Colonel's  re- 
tainers in  the  various  departments  of  Erie  enrolled  them- 
selves under  the  banners  of  the  Ninth  that  the  lonesomo 
appearance  of  its  thin  ranks  quickly  disappeared  and  the 
lines  lengthened  rapidly.  On  the  1 4th  of  April  the  Ninth 
marched  out  for  its  first  moonlight  parade  under  its  new 
commander.  The  event  had  been  looked  forward  to  with 
the  peculiar  interest  that  now  attaches  to  everything  that 
Mr.  Fisk  does.  It  was  a  lovely  moonlight  eveuing  and 
the  Colonel  led  his  regiment  past  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel, 
Delmonico's  and  the  numerous  club  houses  on  Fifth 
Avenue.  He  was  gazed  at  everywhere  with  the  usual 
curiosity  and  interest  and  the  spectacle  excited  a  signifi- 
cant smile  and  many  sallies  of  wit  from  the  contemptuous 
grandees  who  looked  down  from  club-room  windows. 
During  the  whole  of  this  march  he  acted  (what  he  really 
is  to  the  regiment),  only  as  a  figure-head,  all  the  orders 
being  given  by  the  Lieutenant-Colonel. 

The  next  grand  show  of  the  Ninth  was  May  13th,  when 
they  were  taken  to  the  Grand  Opera  House  to  witness 
"The  Twelve  Temptations."  Owing  to  the  elaborate 
toilet  of  the  Colonel  for  the. occasion  he  was  nearly  an 
hour  behind  time  and  the  audience  were  kept  waiting  in 
their  seats  till  near  nine  o'clock  before  the  curtain  rose. 
Then  the  Manager-Colonel  came  marching  in  with  his 
command  and  his  ballet  commenced  dancing  to  amuse  bis 


258  AN   OFFENSIVE   SUITER   BILL. 

soldier  boys.  As  he  stood  at  the  grand  entrance,  drink- 
ing deeply  of  the  glory  of  the  occasion,  his  warriors  filing 
past  him  to  their  choice  seats,  a  constable  stepped  up  and 
served  a  summons  and  complaint  upon  him.  He  glanced 
at  the  legal  document  and  found  a  grocer  had  sued  him 
for  a  butter  bill  of  $41.25.  He  became  exceedingly  irate 
and  indignant  when  he  found  out  the  nature  of  the  docu- 
ment, stamped  it  under  his  feet  and  stalked  off  to  his 
private  box  with  a  most  lordly  36-inch  stride,  declaring  it 
a  trick  patched  ,up  by  some  one  to  insult  him  in  the 
presence  of  his  men.  The  soldiers  saw  that  something  had 
been  done  to  offend  their  Colonel's  dignity  and  deported 
themselves  in  such  a  way  that  the  constable  serving  the 
papers  found  it  advisable  to  get  out  of  the  Grand  Opera 
House  as  soon  as  possible.  The  soothing  strains  of  the 
orchestra,  the  lively  and  graceful  pas  of  his  favorite  dan- 
seuse,  the  bewildering  mazes  of  the  ravishing  ballet,  the 
wonderful  gyrations  of  Herr  Von  Ajax,  the  grand  transfor- 
mation scene  at  the  close,  all  delighted  his  brave  men  won- 
derfully, but  their  influence  could  not  recall  the  Colonel 
to  his  wonted  spirits  and  make  him  forget  that  little 
incident  of  the  butter  bill.  After  the  performance  he 
entertained  his  officers  and  some  of  his  chief  danseuses  at 
a  sumptuous  entertainment  in  his  elegant  banqueting  hall. 
Recruiting  progressed  quite  successfully  and  by  the 
first  of  July  the  regiment  numbered  about  seven  hundred 
men  and  the  subject  of  a  summer  encampment  began  to 
be  considered.  Long  Branch  is  now  the  gayest  of  our 


OK  THE  BEACH  AT  LONG  BRANCH.          259 

seaside  watering  places ;  at  Long  Branch  Mr.  Fisk  has 
his  summer  residence ;  to  Long  Branch  runs  Mr.  Fisk's 
floating  palace,  the  "  Plymouth  Eock ;"  and  to  Long 
Branch  it  was  decided  to  go  for  the  summer  encampment. 
They  were  to  go  into  camp  for  ten  days — for  instruction, 
the  Colonel  informed  them,  and  not  for  fun.  The  strictest 
military  regulations  of  camp  life  were  to  be  observed  and 
the  men  were  notified  beforehand  not  to  ask  for  leaves  of 
absence  during  the  time,  as  none  would  be  granted. 
Saturday,  August  20th,  was  fixed  upon  for  the  day  of 
departure.  The  morning  dawned  bright  and  beautiful  and 
the  boys  of  the  gallant  Ninth  were  seen  gathering  from 
every  direction  for  the  grand  event.  The  regiment  was 
ordered  to  be  in  line  at  eight  o'clock,  but  the  usual  delays 
incident  to  such  occasions  were  experienced  and  it  was 
nine  o'clock  before  the  line  was  formed.  The  Colonel 
appeared  mounted  upon  a  grand  chestnut  charger  and 
wore  an  elegant  uniform  said  to  have  cost  two  thousand 
dollars.  As  he  took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  column 
he  made  a  much  better  figure  than  had  been  generally 
anticipated.  He  had  now  learned  enough  of  the  com- 
mands to  start  and  halt  his  regiment,  so  he  was  now  able 
to  put  them  in  motion  without  being  prompted  by  Colonel 
Braine.  As  they  marched  down  Broadway  the  sidewalks 
and  windows  were  crowded  on  either  side.  The  regiment 
made  a  fine  appearance  and  marched  well,  but  the 
Colonel  was  the  chief  object  of  interest  and  the  centre  of 
all  the  curiosity.  They  were  late  in  reaching  the  wharf 


260  PLATING    "SOGEBS." 

and  the  Plymouth.  Eock  had  to  wait  half  an  hour  or  so 
beyond  her  appointed  time  for  starting.  As  she  put  out 
into  the  stream  some  vessel  in  the  bay  fired  a  salute 
which  she  returned  and  then  steamed  on  her  way  and 
made  up  her  lost  time  before  reaching  Sandy  Hook. 

When  the  end  of  the  journey  was  reached  and  the 
Adjutant  had  formed  his  regiment  in  line  preparatory  to 
marching  to  the  camp  ground,  a  most  ludicrous  scene 
occurred.  The  Colonel  wished  to  make  a  little  prelim- 
inary display  and  straighten  out  the  muscles  that  had 
been  cramped  during  the  ride ;  but  he  knew  not  the 
commands  which  it  now  devolved  upon  him  to  give,  so  his 
Lieutenant-Colonel  was  placed  close  behind  to  prompt  him 
in  an  undertone.  The  Colonel  quickly  repeated  the  first 
order  to  his  men  without  making  the  proper  pause 
between  the  warning  and  order.  This  naturally  caused 
an  awkward  execution  of  the  order  by  the  men.  As 
soon  as  he  had  repeated  the  first  order,  Colonel  Braine 
prompted  him  on  the  next  that  he  might  have  it  ready 
when  the  proper  time  came ;  but  without  waiting  at  all 
he  repeated  it  to  the  men  as  soon  as  he  caught  it  him- 
self, without  observing  whether  they  were  ready  for  it  or 
not,  and  in  the  same  unmilitary-like  way  in  which  he 
had  given  the  first.  The  consequence  was  a  still  more 
awkward  exhibition  on  the  part  of  the  men  and  a  laugh. 
This  slightly  disconcerted  the  gallant  Colonel  and  his 
only  thought  now  was  to  catch  and  repeat  the  commands. 
He  deemed  it  wholly  the  regiment's  business  and  none  of 


CAMP    GOULD.  261 

his  how  they  were  executed  if  he  only  got  them  out 
With  all  his  attention  turned  behind  him  to  hear  his 
prompter,  he  forgot  his  men  entirely.  They  had  but 
half  finished  "  Shoulder  arms  !"  when  "  Right  shoulder 
shift  arms !"  came  upon  them  and  they 'were  thrown  into 
utter  confusion.  If  the  Colonel  did  not  understand  the 
prompter  exactly  he  blurted  out  something  sounding  as 
nearly  like  it  as  possible,  like  the  boy  in  the  Sunday 
school.  The  result  was  that  every  one  set  up  a  great 
laugh  at  his  Highness,  which  he  turned  in  the  best  way 
by  joining  in  it  himself,  and  turned  over  the  regiment  to 
the  orders  of  the  Adjutant  and  rode  off  to  the  camp  at  its 
head.  The  march  of  course  lead  it  by  all  the  large  hotels 
and  here  as  in  the  city  the  regiment,  or  the  Colonel, 
created  a  great  sensation. 

The  camp  was  very  elegantly  laid  out  and  was 
christened  "Camp  Gould"  in  compliment  to  the  one 
single  man  who  shares  every  secret  of  Mr.  Pisk's  breast, 
who  has  been  his  one  trusted,  inseparable  companion  and 
confederate  through  all  his  noted  career,  and  on  whom  he 
says  he  would  "go  his  bottom  dollar."  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  almost  unprecedented^  hot  period  of  that 
summer  that  they  reached  their  camp.  The  first  thing 
the  Colonel  did  on  reaching  his  grand  tent  was  to  doff  all 
his  fine  feathers  instantly  and  make  himself  as  comforable 
as  possible.  His  elegant  new  uniform  had  absorbed  an 
immense  quantity  of  perspiration  from  him  that  day  and 
he  realized  that  "sogering"  was  not  all  fun.  He  felt 


262  STBIPPBD    Of   HIS   QAtTDT    PLTTXAffS. 

with  Sidney  Smith  that  it  would  be  very  comfortable  to 
take  off  his  flesh  and  sit  in  his  bones  for  a  time.  Having 
reduced  himself  to  a  condition  of  entire  dishabille,  he  pro- 
ceeded on  a  tour  of  inspection  round  the  camp  to  acquaint 
himself  with  the  condition  and  wants  of  his  men.  They 
were  very  much  amused  to  see  their  commander  so 
greatly  changed,  the  peacock  stripped  of  ajl  his  gaudy 
plumage,  and  this  tour  of  inspection  made  the  camp  jolly 
in  the  extreme.  This,  however,  was  only  the  beginning 
of  the  humors  of  the  day.  As  the  Colonel  approached  his 
marquee  on  completing  the  circuit  of  the  camp,  he  was 
met  by  almost  all  the  band  men,  who  were  Germans,  and 
respectfully  petitioned  him  that  they  be  supplied  with 
lager  for  a  beverage.  But  the  Colonel  was  determined  OB 
military  rigor  while  in  camp  and  answered  "  Oh,  no !  we 
brought  you  down  hear  to  play  music,  not  to  drink  lager 
beer.  You  can't  play  that  on  me!"  But  the  Teutons 
pleaded  that  their  throats  were  parched  from  blowing  sa 
much  on  their  instruments,  and  finally  the  kind-hearted 
Colonel  relaxed  so  far  as  to  let  them  have  some  lager. 
This  delegation  had  hardly  retired  when  another  son 
of  the  Fatherland  appeared,  saluted  the  Colonel,  and 
said,  "I  vants  to  go  out."  "You  can't  have  a  pass  from 
me,"  was  the  reply.  "Den  me  goes  midout  it!  I  bet 
you  ten  dollar  me  goes  out  ven  I  pleazhe !"  ejaculated  the 
insubordinate  Teuton,  and  the  Colonel  was  looking  "very 
much  puzzled  what  to  do  with  such  a  troublesome  cus- 
tomer when  the  Adjutant  came  to  his  rescue  by  putting 


CHASING    PKSERTEUS.  263 


the  man  under  arrest  and  marching  liirn  off  towards  the 
guard-house.  As  soon  as  the  Colonel  divined  the  nature 
of  this  act  of  discipline  he  shouted  "Adjutant,  put  that 
man  in  the  guard-house."  In  his  new  and  close  quarters 
the  German  was  soon  joined  by  two  other  men  who  had 
been  caught  attempting  to  break  bounds.  After  the  party 
had  been  kept  in  confinement  for  an  hour  or  two  they 
became  penitent  and  asked  to  be  taken  to  the  Colonel  to 
obtain  his  pardon.  As  they  came  up  in  front  of  the  mar- 
quee the  Colonel  fixing  a  determined  eye  on  the  obstrep- 
erous Teuton  said  "  Well,  old  boy  !  don't  you  think  you'd 
've  lost  your  ten  dollars  if  you'd  made  that  bet  ?  I  guess 
you  would  !"  Then  addressing  himself  to  all  the  numer- 
ous applicants  around  him  for  passes  to  go  out  and  those 
who  had  been  caught  attempting  to  run  out,  he  continued, 
"Now  look  a-here,  no  chap  is  going  to  leave  without  a 
pass  from  me.  This  camp  ought  to  be  like  a  country 
grave-yard  —  no  one  who  is  outside  should  want  to  come 
in  and  no  one  who  is  inside  can  get  out."  With  this  he 
dismissed  them  to  their  tents.  But  as  soon  as  the  dark- 
ness set  in  nearly  half  the  men  were  trying  to  steal  out  of 
camp  to  see  what  was  going  on  among  the  gay  world  of 
fashion.  The  Colonel  had  been  suspicious  of  this  and  so 
was  on  the  look-out.  He  joined  personally  in  pursuit  of 
deserters  and  chasing  them  afforded  him  great  fun  for  a 
time,  but  the  noveUy  of  it  soon  wore  off  as  in  his  other 
pleasures.  He  was,  however,  determined  to  establish  a 
system  of  thorough  discipline,  and  so  spent  the  greater 


264  AT   DRESS    PABADB. 

part  of  the  night  chasing  deserters  and  bringing  them 
back  to  camp.  "Why!"  said  he,  "how  the  deuce  could 
I  teach  these  men  all  I  know  about  military  science  if 
they  are  all  the  way  from  here  to  West  End  ?" 

The  men  soon  settled  down  quietly  under  their  discip- 
line, all  worked  smoothly  and  the  ten  days  were  made 
what  the  Colonel  announced  they  were  io  be— a  period  of 
instruction.  And  he  applied  himself  to  the  schooling  as 
rigorously  as  he  did  the  men.  The  ludicrous  predicament 
in  which  he  had  found  himself  on  arriving  had  showa. 
him  that  there  were  some  further  requisites  for  a  Colonel- 
besides  a  uniform  and  a  sword,  and  he  devoted  himself 
vigorously  to  mastering  the  manual  of  arms  and  the  more 
elementary  evolutions.  The  first  dress  parade  was  rather- 
awkward,  like  the  previous  display,  but  both  men  and 
commander  improved  very  perceptably  each  day,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  ten  days  they  presented  the  appearance  of 
a  well  drilled  regiment.  Their  dress-  parade  was  the  fea- 
ture of  the  day  at  Long  Branch  while  they  remained.  All 
the  company  at  the  hotels  poured  out  to  witness  it ;  car- 
riages crowded  around  the  encampment  as  far  as  any  view 
could  be  obtained,  and  the  pageant  was  one  such  as  is 
rarely  witnessed — Mr.  Fisk,  as  ever,  still  being  the  great 
centre  of  all  the  curiosity  and  attraction. 

Many  rumors  were  afloat  as  to  grand  occasions  that 
were  going  to  be  during  the  stay  of  the  Ninth  at  the 
Branch.  The  Governor  was  going  to  spend  several  days 
there  out  of  special  compliment  to  the  regiment,  and  join 


BO*  AT  THE  CONTIltEjrTAt.  265 

hi  Its  festivities  and  be  its  guest,  as  it  were.  General 
Grant,  who  has  a  cottage  here,  was  to  smile  upon  the  en- 
campment, and  many  distinguished  men  were  going  to  be 
present  with  their  ladies.  But  all  these  rumors  ended  in 
disappointment.  Governor  Hoffman  did  indeed  make  a 
flying  visit  to  the  encampment,  but  declined  even  to  review 
the  regiment,  saying  he  preferred  to  see  dress  parade,  and 
returned  to  the  city  the  same  day. 

These  little  silent,  negative  slights  were  felt  rather 
keenly,  and  it  was  then  fully  realized  that  great  as  was 
the  attention  the  regiment  attracted  it  was  chiefly  from 
causes  not  at  all  flattering.  To  compensate  for  some  of 
the  disappointments  a  grand  ball  in  honor  of  the  Ninth 
was  gotten  up  at  the  Continental  Hotel.  The  regiment 
took  Its  meals  at  this  hotel  during  its  whole  stay.  It  was 
announced  that  various  distinguished  citizens  and  mili- 
tary men  were  to  be  present  at  this  ball.  The  appointed 
night  came  on.  The  dining  hall  was  speedily  metamor- 
phosed into  a  grand  ball  room  very  tastefully  decorated. 
The  hour  for  the  ball  to  open  arrived,  but  with  it  came 
none  of  the  distinguished  individuals  whose  presence  on 
the  occasion  had  been  foretold  on  rather  apocryphal 
authority.  When  the  Colonel  arrived  and  made  his  usual 
inquiry  "Well,  how  goes  everything?"  he  found  the 
burden  of  the  occasion  still  rested  on  him.  Nothing 
daunted,  he  proceeded  to  open  the  ball  quite  as  contented 
as  though  all  the  distinguished  guests  wished  for  had  been 
present.  The  ladies  were  lar^ftly  in  the  minority  on  the 


occasion,  so  the  soldier  boys  had  to  act  as  wall  flowers. 
The  music  was  very  fine,  there  being  some  fifty  pieces  in 
the  band.  The  affair  passed  off  quite  pleasantly  and  all 
had.  a  good  time,  but  it  lacked  what  its  promoters  would 
have  been  most  glad  to  have — the  smiles  of  the  elite. 

The  last  dress  parade  was  on  Sunday.  When  the  manual 
had  been  gone  through  with,  the  order  "  Parade — rest  1" 
was  given  and  with  the  men  in  this  position  the  Colonel 
addressed  them  as  follows  : 

.  "  Officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Ninth  Regiment :  By  this 
time  to-morrow  evening  there  will  be  nothing  left  of  Camp 
Gould  but  the  ground  on  which  our  tents  now  stand. 
To-morrow  we  shall  be  on  the  march  and  therefore  I  avail 
myself  of  the  present  opportunity  to  address  you.  This  is 
our  last  night  in  camp  and  I  cannot  dismiss  you  without 
expressing  the  pride  and  satisfaction  I  feel  at  'your  con- 
duct. You  have  behaved  well  as  soldiers  and  I  am  proud 
of  you.  You  have  behaved  well  as  citizens  and  I  thank 
you.  During  the  ten  days  you  have  been  encamped  I 
have  not  received  a  single  complaint  from  any  quarter 
from  the  residents  of  Long  Brunch  or  from  the  visitors ; 
and  considering  that  we  left  New  York  nearly  seven  hun- 
dred strong  and  have  had  an  average  of  about  five  hun- 
dred men  per  day  here,  this  is  more  than  I  expected.  I 
certainly  anticipated  a  little  trouble  from  outside,  but  I 
rejoice  to  say  that  up  to  this  moment  I  have  not  received 
a  single  complaint.  Gentlemen,  this  is  something  to  be 
proud  of  and  I  cannot  find  words  to  express  my  thanks  to 
you  one  and  all.  The  few  days  I  have  spent  here  have 
been  more  to  me  than  so  many  months.  I  have  learned 
to  know  you  better  and  have  realized  the  responsibility  of 


"HONE  so  POOH  TO  BO  HER  EEVEBENCE."          267 

my  position.  Q-entlemen,  I  am.  proud  to  command  such  a 
regiment  and  it  shall  be  my  study  to  make  the  Ninth  the 
model  regiment  of  the  National  Guard.  Once  again  I 
thank  you  for  the  attention  you  have  paid  to  your  duties 
and  in  view  of  the  progress  made  I  am.  sure  none  of  you 
will  regret  the  time  spent  in  Camp  Gould." 

As  the  day  for  breaking  up  of  the  encampment  and 
returning  to  the  city  approached,  various  rumors  were 
afloat  as  to  the  compliment  of  an  escort  being  extended  to 
the  Ninth  by  some  one  of  the  National  Guard  regiments 
on  its  arrival  in  New  York.  Some  even  had  it  that  the 
arif-locratic  Seventh  was  to  show  Colonel  Fisk  this  court- 
esj.  In  due  time  the  Plymouth  Rock  reached  her  pier 
bringing  the  boys  of  the  Ninth  for  her  freight.  A  dense 
crowd  packed  all  the  available  space  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
pier  and  it  was  nearly  an  hour  before  the  police  could 
clear  sufficient  room  for  the  regiment  to  land  and  form  a 
line.  But  in  all  the  crowd  there  was  no  escort  of  honor. 
The  Ninth  was  alone.  Among  all  the  regiments  of  the 
National  Guard,  "none  so  poor  to  do  her  reverence."  Such 
a  graceful  act  would  have  been  highly  appreciated  by  both 
Colonel  and  men,  but  as  none  cared  to  offer  it  they  felt 
quite  able  -  to  paddle  their  own  canoe.  The  regiment 
formed  and  started.  Everywhere  on  their  line  of  march, 
up  Chambers  Street,  Broadway  down  23d  Street  to 
the  Grand  Opera  House — the  crowd  was  as  dense  as  at 
the  pier.  Sidewalks,  windows  and  every  point  from  which 
a  view  of  the  Colonel  could  be  had,  were  packed  with 


268  BIDING  trp  BBOADWAY. 

people  anxious  to  get  a  sight,  but  every  face  wore  a  pecu- 
liar kind  of  smile  that  no  other  regiment  excites.  The 
Colonel  sat  his  noble  horse  well  and  made  a  fine  appear- 
ance. He  was  as  self-conscious  as  when  he  used  to  ride 
a  broomstick,  to  his  mother's  great  amusement.  As  he 
passed  the  large  hotels  on  the  line  of  march,  the  little  ner- 
vous care  he  took  to  have  everything  about  his  position, 
carriage  and  appearance  exactly  to  his  liking,  showed  that 
he  understood  the  chief  cause  of  all  this  curiosity  and 
whence  that  peculiar  smile.  At  length  the  Grand  Opera 
House  was  reached  and  the  march  was  ended.  With  a 
few  characteristic  words  from  the  Colonel,  producing  a 
laugh  as  he  rode  along  the  lines,  the  regiment  was  soon 
dismissed,  evidently  to  the  great  relief  of  both  Colonel  and 
men,  for  it  had  been  scorchingly  hot  and  they  had  all 
suffered  much  from  the  heat  on  the  homeward  march. 

The  next  public  appearance  of  the  Ninth  was  at  a  ball 
at  the  Academy  of  Music  in  February.  The  "Charity 
Ball"  having  become  one  of  the  great  events  of  the 
season  at  the  Academy,  and  the  Americus  Club  having 
had  a  very  grand  affair  in  the  way  of  a  ball  at  the  same 
place,  Colonel  Fisk  thought  the  Ninth  should  not  be 
behind  the  times  in  this  respect  and  so  shortly  after  the 
two  others  had  occurred  the  grand  Ninth  Regiment  Ball 
was  announced  as  the  next  thing  in  order  in  that  line. 
But  the  Charity  Ball  and  the  Americus  Club  were  not 
shorn  of  their  laurels.  The  Ninth  had  a  nice  time 
pretty  much  to  themselves — the  whole  air  of  the  occasion 


GOING    TO    BT7NKEE    HILL.  269 

being  the  same   as   characterized  their  ball    at    Long 
Branch. 

The  Plymouth  Rock  having  been  brought  into  service 
for  the  purposes  of  the  regiment  last  year,  and  a  change 
being  desirable  for  this,  it  occurred  to  the  Colonel  that  it 
would  be  a  nice  idea  to  take  his  regiment  up  to  Boston  by 
his  Sound  steamers,  and  create  a  sensation  at  "  the  Hub  " 
by  displaying  his  splendors  at  the  celebration  of  Bunker 
Hill  on  the  17th  of  June.  With  this  view  he  indited  the 
following  letter  to  the  Mayor  of  Boston  : 

New  York,  April  5th,  1871. 
Hon.  William  Gaston  : 

Dear  Sir — This  will  introduce  to  you  Major  J.  B.  Hitch- 
cock, Captain  A.  G.  Fuller  and  Lieutenant  A.  P.  Bacon, 
officers  of  my  regiment  and  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  board  to  visit  your  city  and  confer  with  you  in  regard 
to  a  proposed  trip  on  the  17th  of  June  proximo.  They 
are  empowered  to  make  all  arrangements  in  behalf  of  the 
Ninth  Eegiment,  and  I  would  respectfully  ask  that  the 
hospitality  of  the  city  be  extended  to  the  regiment 
I  am,  with  much  respect, 

JAMES  FISK,  JK., 

Colonel  commanding. 

The  Mayor  laid  the  matter  before  the  City  Government, 
when  considerable  discussion  arose,  in  the  course  of  which 
Alderman  Cowdin  said  he  understood  Colonel  Fisk  did 
not  intend  it  should  cost  the  city  a  dollar,  the  compliment 
only  being  desired.  Alderman  Plumer  said  he  did  not 
know  anything  about  the  regiment  but  did  know  some- 
thing of  its  Colonel,  and  he  did  not  think  it- would  be 


270  A   COLD   SHOTJLDBK. 

creditable  for  the  city  to  do  anything  in  relation  to  the 
matter.  The  subject  was  then  "  laid  on  the  table  "  by  a 
decisive  vote  and  given  no  more  consideration.  How  the 
letter  was  regarded  by  the  Bostonians  may  be  accurately 
inferred  from  the  following  comments  of  the  Boston  Daily 
Advertiser  : 

"  The  action  of  the  Colonel  of  the  Ninth  New  York 
Regiment,  in  asking  for  an  official  reception  of  his  corps 
by  the  City  of  Boston,  marks  a  new  era  in  the  history  of 
effrontery.  Such  compliments  are  generally  supposed  to 
be  tendered  by  the  host,  rather  than  asked  for  by  the 
guest ;  and  when  the  would-be  guest  lets  it  be  understood 
that  '  it  shall  not  cost  the  city  a  dollar,'  the  transition  from 
the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous  is  at  once  reached.  When 
the  City  of  Boston  tenders  her  hospitalities  she  does  it  on 
no  mean  scale,  and  will  be  slow  to  enter  into  any  arrange- 
ment which  smacks  of  those  silver-plate  presentations 
wherein  the  recipient  pays  for  the  present." 

Notwithstanding  this  rebuff,  the  doughty  Colonel  was 
not  in  the  least  moved  from  his  purpose  but  went  forward 
with  his  preparations,  utterly  indifferent  whether  he  was 
welcome  or  not.  Boston  had  got  to  see  him  in  his  elegant 
uniform  and  mounted  on  his  proud  war  charger.  He 
even  manifested  a  greater  contempt  for  the  Boston  "  City 
Fathers  "  than  they  had  manifested  for  him,  by  addressing 
the  Mayor  a  second  letter,  as  follows  : 

New  York,  April  27,  1871. 
Hon.  William  Gaston,  Mayor  of  Boston,  Mass. : 

Dear  Sir :  On  the  5th  inst.  I  addressed  to  you  a  letter, 
asking  an 'extension  of  hospitality  to  the  Ninth  Regiment, 


BOSTON'S  CITY  FATHERS  SNUBBED.  271 

New  York  State  National  Guard,  which  letter,  I  under- 
stand, was  delivered  to  you  by  a  committee  of  the  regi- 
ment and  referred  by  you  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  I 
infer  from  the  published  proceedings  that  the  letter,  which 
was  simply  designed  to  obtain  your  official  permission  for 
the  visit  of  my  regiment,  was  misconstrued  into  an  appli- 
cation for  special  favors  at  the  expense  of  your  city,  a  per- 
version for  which  there  was  no  warrant  and  no  excuse. 
The  reason  of  my  application  to  you  was  that  (as  I  was 
informed)  the  law  of  your  State  did  not  allow  the  entry  of 
an  armed  force  without  the  sanction  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment, or  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  State  or  city  to 
be  entered.  Having  waited  a  sufficient  time  for  your  de- 
cision, and  my  regiment  not  having  received  from  you  the 
courtesy  of  a  reply,  I  have  applied,  in  the  name  of  the 
regiment,  to  His  Excellency  the  Governer  of  the  Common- 
wealth for  permission  to  enter  your  city,  and  he  has  most 
courteously  and  promptly  granted  the  request.  I  beg, 
therefore,  that  you  will  relieve  the  Common  Council  from 
further  consideration  of  the  subject,  as  their  action  or  in- 
action is  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference  to  the  gentlemen 
under  my  command. 

*  .,  J  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  FISK,  JR., 

Colonel  commanding. 

The  reply  upon  which  this  little  triumphant  flourish 
was  based,  expressed  the  Governor's  surprise  that  such 
permission  should  have  been  thought  necessary,  it  being 
the  first  instance,  of  such  a  request,  and  stated  that, 
though  he  regarded  it  as  a  wholly  unnecessary  formality, 
he  willingly  granted  the  permission  asked  for.  This 


272  A.    COMIC    PREDICAMENT. 

crumb  of  comfort,  small  as  it  was,  served  the  Colonel's 
purpose  of  coming  out  from  behind  his  indefinite  phrase 
with  flying  colors,  snubbing  his  snubbers,  and  informing 
the  city  fathers  of  Boston  that  they  were  a  very  stupid  set. 
Having  thus  mercilessly  crushed  and  humiliated  the 
Puritan  magistrates,  pricked  the  bubble  of  their  arro- 
gance and  pretension,  and  made  them  feel  how  very  in- 
significant they  and  their  actions  were  to  the  great  and 
good  like  himself,  the  redoubtable  Colonel  proceeded 
with  his  preparations  for  entering  the  citadel  of  "the 
modern  Athens"  with  his  "armed  force,"  determined 
that  Bunker  Hill  should  not  be  robbed  of  its  crowning 
honor  nor  the  intellectual  citizens  of  "  the  Hub  "  be  de- 
prived of  the  rare  privilege  and  pleasure  of  seeing  the 
great  Prince  Erie  mounted  on  his  splendid  black  war 
horse,  preceded  by  his  unequalled  band  of  one  hundred 
musicians  and  followed  by  his  regiment  of  braves,  no 
matter  how  long-eared  the  proclivities  of  their  civic  rulers. 
But  when  the  preparations  were  all  completed  and  the 
day  drew  nigh  for  the  departure  of  the  gallant  Ninth 
upon  its  pilgrimage  to  the  monument  that  commemorates 
defeat,  the  Colonel  suddenly  found  himself  thrown  up 
against  the  contumacious  Mayor  and  Aldermen  again  in 
a  most  unexpected  manner,  and  was  forced  to  eat  humble 
pie  in  the  shape  of  having  to  ask  further  favors  of  the 
men  to  whom  he  had  said,  with  sublime  military  hauteur, 
"your  action  or  inaction  is  a  matter  of  perfect  indiffer- 
ence to  the  gentlemen  under  my  command." 


"HOW   IS   THAT  FOB  HIGH?"  273 

The  regiment  was  to  be  in  Boston  on  Sunday.  The 
Colonel  was  familiar  with  Boston  sentiment  as  to  the 
proper  manner  of  keeping  the  Sabbath,  and  manifested  a 
commendable  regard  for  that  sentiment  by  resolving  that 
while  in  Boston  he  and  his  would  do  as  Bostonians  do. 
Accordingly  he  had  put  it  down  on  his  programme 
marked  out  for  the  visit  that  on  Sunday  the  regiment, 
with  the  one  hundred  musicians  and  the  black  war  horse, 
would  march  from  their  hotel  to  the  Common,  there  to 
hold  such  religious  services  as  to  their  chaplain  should 
seem  good.  But  the  Common  is  under  the  special  ward 
of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  right  well  do  they 
guard  the  sacred  trust.  Those  two  keys  said  to  have 
been  received  in  direct  line  from  St.  Peter  are  not  more 
reverently  held  by  Pius  Ninth  than  is  the  open  sesame  of 
this  revered  enclosure  by  its  depositaries.  At  the  eleventh 
hour  Colonel  Fisk  learned  that  he  could  not  march  his 
regiment  upon  that  Boston  Common,  even  to  say  their 
prayers,  without  permission  from  the  very  men  whose 
ears  he  had  recently  boxed  so  contemptuously.  To  most 
men  this  situation  would  have  been  somewhat  embarrass- 
ing. To  Colonel  Fisk  it  was  only  comical.  It  is  one  of 
his  characteristics  that  what  would  be  matter  for  embar- 
rassment to  most  men  in  their  false  modesty,  he  regards 
as  only  a  good  joke  and  laughs  away  with  the  classic  in- 
terrogation "  How  is  that  for  high  ?"  With  the  magnan- 
imity of  true  greatness,  he  bore  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen 
no  malice  for  the  past,  and  the  difference  of  the  parties 


"  BICHA.ED  8    HTM8BU    AGAUC. 

in  worldly  station,  he  thought,  precluded  all  possibility  of 
there  being  on  this  occasion  a  feeling  of  anything  like 
embarrassment — that  infallible  sign  of  low  breeding. 
Therefore  when  he  learned  the  necessities  of  the  case  he 
experienced  none  of  the  qualms  of  vulgar  natures,  but 
immediately  sat  dpwn  boiling  over  with  humor,  seized 
his  huge  gold  pen  and  indited  the  third  epistle  of  James 
to  the  Bostonians,  to  wit : 

New  York,  June  2,  1871. 
Hon.  William  Gtaston,  Mayor  of  Boston : 

Dear  Sir  :  As  I  am  informed  that  your  city  ordinances 
prohibit  the  entry  of  any  regiment  upon  Boston  Common 
without  permission  from  the  Mayor,  I  respectfully  request 
permission  for  the  use  of  the  Common  by  the  Ninth  Regi- 
ment, N.GKS.N.Y.,  on  the  17th  instant  for  a  dress  parade, 
and  on  the  18th  for  public  religious  services. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  FJSX,  Jr.,  Colonel. 

-••»"'•          ^    iii.-J    ••<.•••••••'•    jrr.K :*.»::;   'm^sb^i 

The  reception  of  this  letter  was  the  occasion  of  quite  an 

unwonted  flutter  in  the  City  Hall.  It  was  immediately 
laid  before  the  Aldermen  and  its  effect  upon  that  body 
was  magical.  Their  candle  so  ruthlessly  blown  out  by 
the  previous  letter,  was  suddenly  blown  into  new  life  and 
light  again.  The  aldermanic  dicky,  which  wilted  com- 
pletely and  bowed  its  head  in  shame  under  the  scathing 
.  snub  of  April  27th,  was  instantly  given  several  vigorous 
jerks  and  bidden  to  stand  up  straight  and  stiff  once  more, 
and  the  municipal  body  suddenly  exhibited  signs  of  a  re- 


THE   SHBINB   OF   THE   HUB.  275 

eurrected  self-respect  after  the  month  of  humiliation  with 
its  nose  upon  the  Erie  grindstone.  But 

"  Alas  for  the  rarity 
Of  Christian  charity 
Under  the  sunl" 

The  Boston  Aldermen  displayed  a  sad  poverty  in  contrast 
with  Mr.  Fisk's  great  wealth  in  this  highest  of  the  Chris- 
tian graces.  Unlike  him,  they  could  not  forgive  and  for- 
get, but  felt  sulky  and  were  disposed  to  nurse  malice  in 
their  bosoms.  On  receiving  this  evidence  that  they  were 
of  some  little  consequence,  even  to  Prince  Erie  and  "the 
gentlemen  under  his  command,"  they  became  unduly 
elated  by  so  great  a  compliment  and  were  determined  to 
make  their  importance  felt.  That  Boston  Common, 
whilom  the  pride  of  "  the  Hub,"  the  object  to  which  Bos- 
tonians  delighted  to  call  the  attention  of  New  Yorkers  be- 
fore the  days  of  Central  Park  ;  that  Boston  Common  with 
its  big  elm,  upon  which  they  used  to  hang  witches  "  in 
good  old  colony  times;"  that  Boston  Common  with  its 
Frog  Pond  whereon  all  Bostonians  sent  out  their  first 
ships  across  summer  seas  and  first  experienced  the  pecu- 
liar sensation  and  phenomenon  of  seeing  stars  by  daylight 
during  their  earliest  graceful  performances  on  skates ;  that 
Boston  Common  with  its  "hoop  skirt"  gate  bearing  the 
State  arms  with  the  motto  "sub  libertate  quetem";  that 
Boston  Common  with  its  parade  ground  whereon  all 
Bostonians  have  played  marbles  and  cat  and  ball,  and 
expended  their  weekly  allowance  of  pennies  upon  giber- 


276  MOMENTABY   BA-CKSLIDIITO. 

alters  in  their  youth,  where  Webster  made  his  last 
speech,  where  Gilmore  first  used  cannon  as  a  musical 
instrument,  whence  little  red  balloons  and  big  black  bal- 
loons had  often  gone  up,  to  the  infinite  glee  of  little 
Bostonians  and  their  nurses,  where  pin-wheels  had 
whizzed  and  every  species  of  pyrotechnic  had  fizzed, 
gyrated  and  gone  out  after  its  kind,  to  commemorate 
many  a  "glorious  Fourth," — that  sacred  Boston  Common, 
Baid  these  pious  venerating  Aldermen,  was  not  to  be 
lightly  profaned  by  the  tread  of  unholy  feet  and  the  en- 
trance of  an  armed  force  of  Gothamites.  While  discuss- 
ing the  matter  they  had  quite  a  little  tempest  in  a 
teapot,  repeated  the  sneers  indulged  at  Colonel  Fisk 
when  considering  his  first  letter,  and  that  part  of  the 
request  asking  for  the  use  of  the  Common  on  Sunday  for 
religious  exercises  was  refused  on  the  ground  that  such  a 
Colonel  with  such  a  war  horse,  such  a  band  of  musicians 
and  such  a  regiment,  would  draw  together  a  large  crowd 
of  the  lowest  and  most  disorderly  element  in  the  city  and 
result  in  a  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  Common. 

When  the  Colonel  was  informed  of  the  treatment  his 
last  request  had  received,  he  suddenly  forgot  the  nature 
of  the  matter  under  consideration,  put  on  his  most  war- 
like expression  of  countenance  and  indulged  in  expletives 
not  generally  deemed  religious.  Determined  to  bring 
these  aldermanic  noses  to  the  grindstone  again  and  win 
another  triumph  over  the  Boston  magnates,  the  big  pen 
was  again  called  into  requisition  to- indite-  a  telegram  : 


WABM  OVER  RELIGION.  277 


New  York,  Jtme  13  —  9±  P.M. 
To  his  Honor  the  Mayor  of  Charlestown,  Mass.  : 

I  am  at  this  moment  in  receipt  of  a  telegram  from  Bos- 
ton announcing  that  the  Ninth  Regiment  are  denied  the 
privilege  of  holding  religious  services  in  any  public  place 
in  Boston  except  the  street,  on  Sunday  next.  Will  you 
allow  the  regiment  to  march  on  Sabbath  morning  to  your 
hospitable  city,  and  there  hold  religious  services  in  such 
suitable  place  as  you  may  designate?  If  Monument 
Square  or  the  grounds  surrounding  Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment are  subject  to  your  control,  allow  us  to  suggest  .one 
of  those  places.  Please  answer  by  telegraph  at  earliest 
moment,  in  order  that  a  committee  may  confer  with  you 
on  Thursday. 

^  JAMES  FISK,  Jr., 

Colonel  Commanding. 

But  the  result  of  this  flank  movement  was  not  so  bril- 
liant as  the  previous  one,  for  it  not  only  gave  no  oppor- 
tunity to  snub  his  snubbers,  as  the  Governor's  reply  was 
made  to  do,  but  it  drove  a  new  arrow  of  mortification, 
and  led  to  further  forgetfulness  that  the  subject  was  a 
religious  one.  The  Charlestown  Mayor  placed  the  matter 
before  the  Aldermen  and  after  considering  it  they 

Itesolved,  That  the  board  esteems  it  a  pleasure  to  grant 
any  military  organization  all  the  courtesies  and  civilities 
becoming  an  intelligent  community.  But  in  considering 
the  request  of  Colonel  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  for  permission  to 
hold  religious  services  in  the  open  air  with  his  regiment 
on  Sunday  the  18th  instant,  while  we  respect  the  object 
of  the  request,  we  feel  that  the  crowd  and  confusion  neces- 


278  A.    BACK    DOOR   TABD    AND    MANY   CITIZENS. 

sarily  attending  a  parade  would  certainly  ill  accord  with 
the  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  And,  therefore, 
as  a  matter  of  order  and  regularity  we  deem  it  inexpedient 
to  grant  the  permission  desired. 

As  soon  as  this  resolution  was  passed  some  enthusiastic 
individuals,  thinking  this  conduct  to  visitors  ungracious, 
commenced  scouring  the  city  in  search  of  some  place  to 
tender  to  the  valiant  Colonel,  that  he  might  not  be  turned 
away  without  saying  his  prayers.  After  great  effort  a 
vacant  patch  of  land,  too  poor  for  earthly  use,  was  found 
and  made  the  subject  of  the  following  telegram  : 

Charlestown,  June  15,  1871. 
Colonel  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  commanding  Ninth  Regiment 

N.  Y.  N.  G.,  New  York :  " 

Near  the  foot  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  approximate  to  the 
spot  where  the  British  hosts  landed  to  make  their  assault 
upon  the  redoubts,  ninety-six  years  ago,  there  is  a  suita- 
ble lot  of  ground  for  your  regiment  to  worship  on  Sun- 
day, the  18th  instant,  which  is  tendered  you  by 

MANY  CITIZENS  OF  CHAKLESTOWN. 

Either  "many  citizens"  was. too  indefinite  an  address 
to  reply  to,  or  the  Colonel  was  too  much  disgusted  with 
the  Puritanic  spirit  he  had  fallen  upon  to  waste  more  of 
his  valuable  time  upon  such  antediluvians,  for  the  tender 
of  "many  citizens"  was  aot  accepted,  and  the  Colonel 
was  forced  to  set  out  on  his  pilgrimage  ere  the  religious 
needs  of  the  regiment  were  provided  for. 

The  regiment  left  New  York  by  special  steamer  for 


THJE   NUTTH   AT   BUHKEK   HILL.  279 

Fall  River  on  Friday  afternoon,  June  16th,  and  reached 
Boston  on  the  morning  of  the  17th.  They  were  received 
by  a  fine  military  escort,  the  first  compliment  of  the  kind 
they  had  ever  received  under  their  new  Colonel,  and 
marched  to  the  St.  James  Hotel.  After  breakfast  they 
resumed  the  march  through  Boston  to  Charlestown,  took 
part  in  the  celebration  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill, 
marched  back  through  Boston  to  the  Common,  went 
through  a  dress  parade,  then  returned  to  their  hotel  and 
were  dismissed  to  amuse  themselves  as  they  pleased. 
Everywhere  on  their  march  from  the  moment  they  ar- 
rived a  large  crowd  awaited  them.  The  Colonel,  mount- 
ed on  a  splendid  black  horse,  was  of  course  the  chief 
centre  of  attraction.  All  faces  were  marked  by  the  pecu- 
liar smile  which  Mr.  Fisk's  appearance  in  public  ever 
evokes,  and  as  he  rode  along  there  were  frequent  faint 
demonstrations  of  applause  of  the  kind  that  borders  on 
the  doubtful  ground  between  compliment  and  jeer.  In 
the  evening  the  band,  which  had  attracted  much  atten- 
tion during  the  day  from  its  large  number  of  musicians 
and  the  presence  of  Levy,  the  renowned  cornet  player, 
gave  a  concert  on  the  Common.  It  was  a  beautiful  even- 
ing and  a  vast  crowd  gathered  to  listen,  and  was  of  such 
an  appreciative  class  as  to  join  in  with  a  chorus  of  jews- 
harps  at  the  most  effective  parts  of  Levy's  beautiful  cornet 
solos.  The  band  played  beautifully  and  the  Bostonians, 
though  priding  themselves  on  their  musical  culture,  were 
forced  to  confess  they  had  nothing  to  compare  with  it. 


280  JUPITER   PLUVITTS. 

Sunday  morning  came,  and  it  was  announced  that  the 
vexed  question  of  religious  services  had  been  settled. 
The  regiment  was  to  be  formed  in  Franklin  Square, 
fronting  the  St.  James,  and  the  chaplain  to  deliver  his 
sermon  from  the  balcony  of  the  hotel.  But  alas  !  after 
his  many  trials  and  disappointments  in  relation  to  the 
matter,  it  seemed  as  though  the  very  elements  had  joined 
his  enemies  and  were  opposed  to  Mr.  Fisk's  saying  his 
prayers  in  Boston,  for  a  severe  rain  storm  set  in  and,  for  a 
third  time,  his  plans  for  religious  services  were  defeated. 
Trying  as  this  third  rejection  of  his  devotions  was,  the 
Colonel's  religious  fervor  remained'  unabated,  and  he  was 
still  determined  that  he  would  say  his  prayers  somewhere 
before  he  left  Boston.  His  Opera  Bouffe  company  hav- 
ing recently  performed  at  the  Boston  Theatre,  he  was  on 
such  terms  with  the  manager  of  that  establishment  as 
to  be  able  to  secure  it  without  difficulty  for  his  present 
purpose.  Therefore  it  was  decided  that  the  stage  of  the 
Boston  Theatre,  whereon  his  Aimee  had  yesterday  enter- 
tained an  audience  in  comic  opejra,  should  be  the  altar 
from  which  should  be  offered  the  thrice  rejected  prayers. 
A  long  string  of  omnibusses  formed  a  cordon  round  the 
St.  James  Hotel,  the  gallant  soldiers  of  the  Ninth  were 
packed  into  them  and  driven  away  to  the  Boston  Theatre. 
Brief  as  was  the  notice  and  unpropitious  as  was  the  wea- 
ther, the  vast  auditorium  was  filled  with  spectators.  The 
regiment  took  seats  in  the  body  of  the  house,  while  the 
Colonel  wifh  his  staff,  chaplain  and  band  took  positions 


"l   BELONG   IN   BOSTON."  281 

upon  the  stage.  The  band  played  so  effectively  and  a 
cornet  solo  by  Levy  was  so  stirring  that  the  audience 
broke  out  with  applause.  This  the  chaplain  promptly 
and  severely  rebuked  and  then  proceeded  to  deliver  a  ser- 
mon. This  ended,  the  Colonel,  in  undress  uniform  and 
white  kids,  arose  and  said : 

Soldiers  of 'the  Ninth  Regiment  and  Officers  of  the  Staff: 
On  the  morrow,  if  God  spares  us,  we  shall  get  back 
again  to  our  own  city,  or,  at  least,  to  tho  city  where  you 
belong,  for  I  can  scarcely  say  our  city,  because  I  belong 
in  Boston.  This  is  my  residence.  I  hardly  can  express 
to  you  the  feelings  which  I  cherish  toward  you  all  for  the 
manner  in  which  you  have  fulfilled  all  your  duties  as  sol- 
diers on  this  occasion.  You  have  again  occasion  to  feel 
proud,  in  every  sense  of  tho  word,  of  your  entire  behaviour 
from  the  time  you  left  New  York  until  now.  I  can  only 
thank  you  in  all  kindness,  heartfelt  kindness,  that  you 
have  done  now  as  you  always  have  done  since  you  have 
been  under  my  command ;  that  you  have  again  taken  a 
great  interest  in  the  performance  of  your  duties,  and  that 
you  have,  as  usual,  shown  your  willingness  to  carry  out^ 
every  wish  of  your  superior  officers.  It  is  always  with 
pride,  when  we  have  been  anywhere,  that  in  after  times 
when  I  have  met  any  with  whom  we  have  been  associated, 
that  I  hear  of  the  proud  name  in  which  the  regiment  is 
spoken  of.  I  felt  certain  of  our  reception  in  Boston.  I 
felt  assured  of  your  conduct.  I  knew  what  the  result 
would  be.  But  a  very  unfortunate  mistake,  or  accident, 
has  occurred  with  regard  to  the  authorities  of  the  city  of 
Boston — a  mistake  *I  would  gladly  have  avoided.  The 
hospitalities  we  wanted  extended  to  us  were  those  that  I 


282  poraiNG  OIL  ON  TROUBLED  WATBES. 

felt  we  would  be  sure  to  get,  and  the  only  thing  that  haa 
gone  wrong  was  the  occasion  which  has  made  it  necessary 
for  me  to  offer  an  apology  to  the  Mayor  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  in  behalf  of  my  regiment,  when  passing  in  review. 
We  did  not  know  that  he  was  to  review  us.  I  saw  him 
just  in  time  to  salute  him  myself,  but  the  regiment  was 
unable  to  salute  him,  for  there  was  not  time  to  pass  the 
word  down  the  line.  It  was  a  respect  which  "we  owed  to 
him  in  his  .position  as  chief  magistrate  of  this  city,  and  it 
is  right  that  the  regiment  should  apologise ;  and,  there- 
fore, when  these  remarks  are  registered,  as  they  will  be 
to-morrow  when  we  have  returned  to  our  homes,  he  will 
hear  that  we  have  apologized  to  him  for  a  mistake  which 
was  not  ours  ;  we  should  have  been  notified.  (Applause, 
from  the  spectators.)  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  kind  man- 
ner in  which  the  military  of  Massachusetts  have  received 
us,  and  to  thank  the  citizens  of  Massachusetts  and  those 
of  other  States  for  the  exceedingly  kind  welcome  they 
have  accorded  us.  !fy  was  the  only  welcome  we  wanted. 
(Applause.)  The  matter  of  our  hospitalities  and  expenses 
were  borne  by  friends.  Hospitalities,  in  the  strict  sense 
of  the  term,  we  can  carry  out  ourselves ;  but  the  spirit 
evinced  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  as  we  passed 
along  its  streets,  could  not  be  purchased.  It  must  come 
from  the  heart ;  from  the  good  feeling  they  bear  toward 
us,  and  I  thank  them,  and  I  know  that  you  all  thank 
them  for  it.  In  the  future,  when  we  have  occasion,  and  I 
think  we  shall  have,  of  turning  from  the  city  of  New 
York,  I  shall  yearn  toward  Boston,  for  I  think  the  good 
feeling  displayed  by  the  citizens  on  this  visit  would  bring 
us  all  back  here  the  next  season,  instead  of  anywhere 
else.  Therefore,  when  we  go  from  Boston,  I  will  say  for 


FOBGIVS    THOSE   THAI   DESPIIKiTLLT    USE    TOTT.          283 

myself  and  my  regiment  that  we  shall  carry  back  nothing 
but  the  kindest  spirit  toward  this  good  city.  There 
should  have  come  up  no  "ism" ;  there  should  have  come 
up  nothing  to  say  that  we  should  not  worship  God  how 
and  where  we  pleased.  It  was  a  mistake.  Nobody 
meant  wroug  toward  us,  and  I  was  sorry  to  see  that  the 
question  was  agitated  at  all.  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
signers  of  the  paper  said  to  have  been  sent  in  to  the  Bos- 
ton City  Government,  requesting  that  the  Common  should 
not  be  opened  to  us,  felt  any  differently  toward  us  than 
did  the  100,000  or  150,000  people  who  welcomed  us  39 
warmly.  We  will  cherish  no  bad  feeling  against  them. 
I  do  not  believe  they  cherish  anything  against  us.  Again 
let  me  thank  them  for  all  they  have  done  for  us.  It 
speaks  well  for  us  to  exhibit  ourselves  in  full  ranks  to-day 
after  the  hard  labors  of  yesterday,  and  reflecting  on  the 
fact  that  a  leave  of  absence  was  granted  from  9  o'clock 
last  night  to  1  o'clock  to-day.  I  am  told  that,  except 
those  who  are  upon  the  sick  list,  every  officer  and  private 
is  present  here  this  afternoon,  and  I  am  proud  of  the 
Ninth.  Because  why  ?  whether  under  military  rule  or 
otherwise,  they  feel  a  pride  in  their  organization.  They 
take  pride  in  its  good  behavior,  take  them  where  you  will. 
You  have  planted  another  peaceful  battle  on  your  flag. 
Thanking  you  for  the  spirit  in  which  you  have  carried  out 
your  instructions,  and  that  you  have  done  what  is  right, 
and  discharged  your  duties  with  a  degree  of  merit  to 
which  you  always  aspire,  I  will  retire.  (Applause.) 

The  ceremonies  in  the  theatre  over,  the  regiment  were 
again  disposed  of  in  the  omnibusses  and  driven  to  the 
depot,  where  they  took  the  cars  for  home.  Despite  the 


284  A17  BEYOIB. 

drenching  rain  an  immense  crowd  had  gathered  to  wit- 
ness the  departure  and  cheered  heartily  for  the  parting 
guest  as  the  long  train  passed  out  of  the  depot. 

Sympathy  had  grown  rapidly  in  favor  of  the  Colonel 
and  his  regiment  during  their  visit  of  thirty-sis  hours. 
The  evident  commendable  earnest  desire  of  the  Colonel  to 
manifest  the  highest  courtesy  to  every  one  and  pay  the 
most  scrupulous  respect  even  to  every  Boston  prejudice, 
the  marked  gentlemanly  bearing  of  every  man  in  the 
fegiment,  which  was  noted  by  every  one,  the  genuine 
pleasure  which  the  splendid  music  of  the  band  had  af- 
forded, all  conspired  to  turn  the  tide  in  favor  of  the  visi- 
tors and  create  a  feeling  that  they  were  treated  too  curtly 
by  the  municipal  authorities.  "  He  laughs  best  who 
laughs  last,"  and  the  silent  rebuke  which  the  bearing  of 
the  Ninth  while  in  Boston  gavo  to  the  absurd  action  of 
the  Aldermen  in  refusing  the  use  of  the  Common  for  re- 
ligious services,  was  a  triumph  of  the  proudest  kind,  and 
the  visit  may  well  have  been  gratifying  to  them  and  their 
Colonel,  despite  the  preliminary  affront 

The  Ninth  had  hardly  recovered  from  the  sea-sickness 
of  their  very  stormy  homeward  voyage  and  ceased  to  talk 
of  their  pleasure  trip,  when  they  were  suddenly  sum- 
moned to  arms  for  a  more  serious  purpose  than  a  holiday 
parade.  July' 12th,  1871,  will  go  down  as  a  historic  day 
in  the  annals  of  New  York,  because  of  the  terrible  riot 
that  occurred  on  that  date,  and  the  Ninth  wrote  its  fame 
upon  the  same  page  of  history  in  the  blood  of  three  of 


KAXLY1NO   FOB   BATTLE.  285 

its  members,  though  perhaps  it  gained  a  greater  epheme- 
ral notoriety  from  the  part  played  by  its  Colonel  on  that 
memorable  day. 

The  Governor  having  ordered  out  the  militia  to  protect 
the  procession  of  Orangemen  and  suppress  riot,  Colonel 
Fisk  was  early  at  work  rallying  his  command,  little 
dreaming  what  a  serious  record  the  day  would  bring 
forth.  The  men  of  the  Ninth  that  first  reported  at  their 
armory  were  immediately  sent  out  by  the  Colonel  to  hunt 
up  the  rest  and  hurry  them  to  headquarters.  But  Colonel 
Fisk  now  experienced  some  difficulties  from  the  many 
irons  he  had  in  the  fire.  Being  the  owner  of  one  of 
the  ferries  to  Jersey  City,  he  received  orders  from  the 
Governor  to  stop  running  it,  to  prevent  Jersey  Orange- 
men from  coming  across.  He  left  his  armory  and  went 
to  his  Grand  Opera  House  to  give  directions  for  carrying 
out  this  order,  but  before  this  matter  was  settled  he  re- 
ceived word  that  his  regiment  had  formed  and  was  on  its 
way  to  the  scene  of  anticipated  trouble  and  immediately 
started  to  join  it.  It  being  very  hot,  he  had  thrown  off 
his  coat  while  in  the  Opera  House  and,  in  his  eagerness 
to  be  at  the  head  of  his  men,  thought  not  of  such  trivial 
matters  as  dress,  so  the  doughty  Colonel  was  seen  hurry- 
ing up  Eighth  Avenue  in  his  shirt  sleeves  and  s wordless. 
A  son  of  Mars  in  such  guise  naturally  excited  the  merri- 
ment of  the  bystanders,  and  caused  some  jeering  remarks. 
Arrived  at  the  head  of  his  command  he  borrowed  a  ser- 
geant's sword,  less  glittering  and  costly  than,  his  own  but 


IS   THE   BIOT,    JULY    12lH,    1871. 


equally  serviceable,  and  assumed  command.  In  the  at- 
tack of  the  rioters  upon  the  troops  the  Ninth  was  the 
regiment  to  suffer  most  severely,  three  of  its  men  losing 
their  lives.  When  the  troops  returned  the  fire  the  mob 
rushed  in  every  direction  to  get  out  of  range.  The  space 
between  the  Sixth  and  Ninth  Kegiments  being  the  readi- 
est escape  for  many,  a  crowd  rushed  through,  and  as 
Colonel  Fisk  stood  here  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  in  the 
way,  the  mob  ran  against  him  and  he  tumbled  over.  Not 
having  anticipated  anything  so  serious  as  this,  .his  nerves 
were  somewhat  disturbed  by  the  unexpected  event,  and 
not  liking  that  kind  of  play  he  got  up  and  ran  into  the 
first  place  that  presented  itself.  Thinking  all  the  fury 
of  the  mob  now  concentrated  upon  himself,  he  felt  in- 
secure in  his  first  hiding  place  and  therefore  ran  out  into 
the  back  yard,  jumped  over  the  fence  and  went  on  jump- 
ing fences  till  he  had  passed  several  back  yards.  He 
then  ventured  to  run  through  a  passage  way  to  Twenty- 
ninth  Street,  and  after  looking  carefully  up  and  down  the 
street,  and  seeing  no  one  near,  he  ran  across  the  street 
through  another  passage  way  to  another  back  yard  and 
then  commenced  jumping  fences  again.  At  length  he 
came  upon  an  Irish  woman  in  one  of  the  back  yards,  who 
was  at  first  frightened  at  his  appearance,  but  who,  on 
hearing  the  pitiful  story  of  his  great  danger,  got  him  an 
old  hat,  coat  and  pair  of  pants.  Disguised  in  these,  and 
having  colored  his  moustache  with  a  blacking  brush,  he 
ventured  out  upon  the  street  and,  starting  in  the  least 


AFTER   THE   BATTLE.  287 

frequented  direction,  wandered  about  like  Ulysses  till  he 
espied  the  carriage  of  his  fidus  Achates,  Jay  Gould,  com- 
ing up  the  avenue.  He  hailed  the  driver  and  the  carriage 
stopped,  but  Gould  looking  out  did  not  recognize  the 
Prince  and  Colonel  in  such  disguise,  and  fearing  he  might 
be  some  dastardly  Hibernian,  ordered  his  coachman  to 
drive  on.  The  fugitive  Colonel  succeeded  in  making  him- 
self known,  however,  and  was  taken  into  the  carriage, 
driven  to  their  Twenty-third  Street  Ferry,  there  got  on 
board  a  tug  boat  and  hastened. to  Long  Branch,  where  an 
interviewist  of  the  New  York  Sun  next  found  him  in 
sumptuous  apartments  sweetly  sleeping  on  a  luxurious 
lounge,  surrounded  by  a  bevy  of  females  and  "abeauti- 
girl  was  fanning  him." 

Of  the  many  wild  rumors  flying  about  on  that  terrible 
day,  the  wildest  were  those  relating  to  the  Colonel.  He 
had  no  sooner  fallen  over  when  the  crowd  ran  against 
him  than  the  rumor  started  that  he  was  mortally  wound- 
ed, riddled  with  bullets,  and  torn  in  pieces  by  the  infuri- 
ated mob.  This  was  soon  modified  by  the  report  that  he 
was  badly,  though  not  fatally,  wounded,  and  that  the 
house  to  which  he  had  been  removed  was  kept  a  dead 
secret,  lest  it  should  be  torn  down  by  the  mob.  Next,  the 
Colonel  had  received  only  a  painful  wound  in  the  ankle, 
and  was  quite  safe  from  all  harm.  And  so  the  modifica- 
tions went  on  till  the  interviewee  found  him  drinking 
cobblers  at  Long  Branch,  hurt,  as  to  his  ankle— not 
stall. 


288  BSFOKE  GEAND  DUKE  ALEXIS. 

The  last  time  the  Ninth  ever  marched  under  command 
of  its  far-famed  Colonel,  the  last  time  he  ever  appeared 
conspicuously  before  the  public  and  drank  deep  draughts 
of  that  delight,  so  keen  and  sweet  to  him,  which  came 
from  making  a  sensation  and  centering  the  gaze  of  the 
multitude,  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  reception  given  the 
Russian  Grand  Duke  Alexis  on  his  arrival  in  New  York, 
November  21,  1871.  The  military  display  on  the  occa- 
sion was  very  fine  and  elicited  the  Duke's  highest  admira- 
tion. When  the  Ninth  appeared  with  its  unequaled  band 
and  the  Colonel  whose  form  and  face  were  known  to  all, 
the  crowd  sent  up  such  a  cheer  as  greeted  no  other  regiment 
that  day.  It  was  obviously  personal  to  the  Colonel  him- 
self and  seemed  a  sincere  demonstration  of  popularity 
with  the  throng.  Royalty  impressed  him  with  nothing 
like  awe.  He  was  perfectly  at  home  on  his  magnificent 
horse,  and  gave  the  Duke  the  military  salute  with  perfect 
nonchalance  and  self-possession,  and  royalty  lifted  its 
chapoau  to  Mr.  Fisk. 

In  the  evening  he  extended  the  Duke  the  compliment 
of  a  serenade  by  his  superb  band.  The  square,  streets, 
and  every  available  place  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Clarendon 
Hotel  were  densely  packed  with  people.  A  small  space 
for  the  band  was  kept  clear  by  a  strong  cordon  of  police, 
and  two  calcium  lights  threw  their  intense  light  upon  the 
musicians  and  shed  a  spectral  glare  over  the  whole  scene. 
After  the  salutatory  pieces  were  played,  the  Colonel,  was 
invited  into  the  house  set  apart  for  the  royal  guest  and 


FROM  THE  POLICE  COURT  TO  ROYALTY.        289 

presented  to  the  Duke.  He  chatted  with  him  in  the  free- 
and-easy,  unembarrassed  manner  ho  wore  among  his  Erie 
associates,  and  in  the  course  of  his  remarks  said :  "  I  ex- 
tend to  you  the  hospitality  of  all  I  own  in  America." 

On  Saturday  ho  had  been  in  the  Yorkville  Police  Court 
on  a  charge  of  libel  preferred  by  his  former  mistress ;  on 
this  Tuesday  evening  he  was  in  the  most  distinguished  - 
company  in  the  land  !     Such  were  the  strange  extremes 
that  alternated  so  rapidly  in  his  wonderful  career. 

The.  scene  that  followed  Mr,  Fisk's  exit  from  the  royal 
presence  was  a  fitting  climax  to  the  long  series  of  striking, 
sensational  tableaux  with  which  his  life  was  crowded  as  was 
never  another  private  citizen's.  In  front,  and  far  up  and 
down  the  streets  on  either  side,  was  a  dense  mass  of  hu- 
manity gazing  in  dazed  wonder.  Close  by  his  side  was 
Europe's  royalty,  which  he  was  entertaining  ;  while  in  the 
background,  looking  down  upon  the  wild  scene  from  the 
hotel,  was  genius  that  had  often  moved  all  that  is  most 
elevating  in  the  soul,  those  whose  names  are  symbolic  of 
all  that  is  refined  and  elevating — the  divine-voiced  song- 
stress, Nilsson,  and  her  American  sister  in  the  divinest  of 
the  arts,  Kellogg.  In  the  centre  of  this  scene  stood  Mr. 
Fisk,  one  corner  of  his  military  cape  thrown  back  over 
his  shoulder,  displaying  his  large  diamond  pin  glittering 
brilliantly  under  the  calcium  light.  Ho  was  never  in  higher 
spirits  or  felt  more  in  his  element.  The  cup  sweetest  in 
all  the  world  to  him  was  flowing  to  the  brim.  Ho  lighted 
his  cigar  and  talked  glibly  and  gleefu'ly  to  all  around  him. 
K 


290  THE   LAST   TABLEAU. 

His  band  sent  out  its  most  delicious  strains.  Levy  made 
his  cornet  do  its  best  service ;  the  multitude  rent  the  air 
with  applause,  which  was  warmly  joined  in  by  the  Duke, 
who  had  come  out  upon  his  balcony  to  look  and  listen. 
The  curtain  falls  upon  this  scene  and  there  closes  the 
long  list  of  sensational  tableaux  that,  commencing  on  a 
peddler's  cart  in  the  quaint  New  England  hamlet,  ran  the 
circle  of  the  world's  greatest  variety  with  astounding 
rapidity,  and  ended  with  a  multitude  of  many  thousands 
in  front,  and  the  world's  most  favored  and  distinguished 
forming  the  side  and  background.  The  last  piece 
is  played,  the  calcium  lights  are  turned  out,  the  dense 
throng  breaks  up  and  scatters,  the  Duke  retires  to 
his  apartments,  Mr.  Fisk  is  shut  from  view  till  seen 
lying  in  state  at  the  tragic  close,  the  last  sweet  strains  of 
his  band  die  away  upon  the  midnight  air  to  be  waked  no 
more  till  they  march  before  his  lifeless  form  with  solemn 
tread,  playing 

"  Funeral  marches  to  the  grave." 


-ji^eb  aiH 


MANIPULATING  JUSTICE. 


CHAPTEE  XIV. 


JFSTICE  —  THE  N.  T.  SUPKEME  cotnci  —  STRAWCM 
JI7DICIAL  IKCOXSISTENCIES  -  NOW  T00  SEE  IT  AKD  NOTT  TOU 
DON'T  —  THE  LAW'S  DELAY  —  EECEITEKS  —  A  GBEAT  NAME 
TAninsnED  —  men  THEY  MAKES  TSTJE  MEN  THIEVES.  - 

Of  all  tho  wonderful  power  Mr.  Fisk  obtained  and 
of  the  many  remarkable  things  ho  did,  the  most  as- 
tounding, as  well  as  the  most  dangerous  and  significant, 


292  THE    SXJPKEilE    COUET. 

was  the  control  gained  over  the  Supreme  Court,  First  Dis- 
trict, and  tho  deeds  he  was  able  to  do  by  its  open  aid  and 
connivance. 

There  are  eight  judicial  districts  of  the  Supreme  Court 
in  New  York,  each  presided  over  by  a  different  set  of 
judges ;  yet  the  power  of  each  judge"  extends  over  the 
whole  State,  so  that  in  this  Court  a  man  living  in  Buffalo 
may  bring  a  suit  in  New  York.  Of  course  this  whole 
system  rests  upon  the  assumption  that  the  different 
judges,  being  each  of  the  same  power,  will  treat  each 
other's  proceedings  with  courtesy  and  respect,  for  if  they 
wantonly  or  lightly  exercise  their  authority  they  might  go 
on  issuing  orders,  injunctions  and  processes  subsequent  to 
each  other  ad  infinitum  and  no  issue  ever  bo  reached. 
When  Judge  Barnard  granted  his  first  orders  and  injunc- 
tions in  tho  Vanderbilt-Erio  war,  tho  party  with  which 
Mr.  Fisk  trained  took  advantage  of  this  possibility  of  abuse 
of  power,  and  got  subsequent  injunctions  and  orders 
in  various  districts  tying  up  all  of  Judge  Barnard's  pro- 
ceedings. These  orders  were  promptly  disregarded  by 
Judge  Barnard  as  being  anomalous,  monstrous  and  be- 
yond a  judge's  right  or  power.  Tho  question  came  up  in 
the  General  Term  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  Juno,  18CS,  in 
one  of  tho  Vanderbilt  cases  and  tho  decision  was  unani- 
mous against  such  a  power  in  a  judge,  and  in  giving  the 
opinion  of  the  Court  Judge  Cardozo  said  : 

"  The  idea  that  a  cause  by  such  manoeuvres  as  have 
been  resorted  to  here  can  be  withdrawn  from  one  judge 


WEST    SCENE.  293 

of  this  court  and  taken  possession  of  by  another,  that 
thus  one  judge  can  practically  prevent  his  associate  from 
exercising  his  judicial  functions ;  that  thus  a  causo  may 
be  taken  from  judge  to  judge  whenever  one  of  the  parties 
fears  that  an  unfavorable  opinion  is  about  to  be  rendered 
by  the  judge  who,  up  to  that  time  has  sat  in  the  case, 
and  that  thus  a  decision  in  the  suit  may  be  constantly 
and  indefinitely  postponed  at  the  will  of  one  of  the 
litigants  only,  deserves  to  be  noticed  as  being  a  curiosity 
in  legal  tactics, — a  remarkable  exhibition  of  inventive 
genius  and  fertility  of  expedient  to  embarrass  suits  which 
this  extraordinarily  conducted  litigation  has  developed. 
Such  a  practice  as  that  disclosed  by  this  litigation, 
sanctioning  the  attempt  to  counteract  the  orders  of  each 
other  in  the  progress  of  the  suit,  I  confess  is  new  and 
shocking  to  me,  and  I  trust  that  we  have  seen  the  last  in 
this  tribunal  of  such  practices  as  this  case  has  exhibited." 

The  chief  managers  of  the  legal  tactics  alluded  to  in 
these  words,  tactics  for  the  anti-Vanderbilt  party  with 
which  Mr.  Fisk  was  identified,  were  the  members  of  the 
distinguished  law  firm  of  Field  &  Shearman.  The 
senior  member  is  Mr.  David  Dudley  Field,  one  of  the 
fathers  of  the  New  York  Code,  a  man  with  a  name  famed 
in  England  as  well  as  at  home,  who  is  put  down  in  the 
Cyclopaedia  as  "a  great  law  reformer"  the  brother  of 
Mr.  Cyrus  Field  who  laid  the  first  Atlantic  cable,  and  a 
man  of  highest  social  and  professional  standing.  Mr. 
Shearman  is  one  of  the  few  thorough  read  lawyers  among 
the  younger  members  of  the  New  York  bar,  a  man  of 
eminent  professional  standing  and  the  superintendent  of 


294  FIRST    SCTElOt 

the  Sunday  School  in  Henry  Ward  Beecher's 
Dudley  Field,  a  son  of  David  Dudley,  is  the  third 
member  of  the  firm.  At  the  time  of  the  first  legal 
scandal  raised  by  the  Yanderbilt-Erie  war,  the  opinion 
entertained  by  this  firm  as  to  the  moral  and  professional 
character  of  Judge  Barnard  had  been  placed  beyond  any 
doubt.  Mr.  Shearman  had  already  published  an  article 
in  the  N~orth  American  llevietD,  portraying  this  very 
judge  in  the  most  derogatory  terms,  as  a  man  utterly 
devoid  of  the  legal  attainments  or  moral  character  befit- 
ting his  position  j  David  Dudley  Field  was  at  that  very 
time  actively  exerting  himself  to  bring  about  the* 
impeachment  of  this  same  judge,  as  being  notoriously 
corrupt,  a  scandal  and  disgrace  to  the  bench;  and  the 
opinion  which  Dudley  Field,  the  son,  had  of  the  man  was 
proven  in  one  of  these  very  cases  by  evidence  taken  before 
the  judge  himself  showing  that  he  had  attempted  to 
bribe  the  judge  to  sign  an  order  by  offering  him  money 
if  he  consented  and  threatening  his  impeachment  if  he 
refused. 

When  Mr.  Fisk  first  became  connected  with  the  En* 
Railroad,  and  in  th&  multitude  of  suits  commenced  soon 
after  his  advent,  the  party  with  which  he  was  identified 
was  bitterly  and  scathingly  denounced  by  Judgo  Georgo 
G.  Barnard  as  a  band  of  "  thieves,  scoundrels  and  rascals 
who  had  infested  Wall  Street  and  Broad  Street  for 
years,"  and  they  were  finally  driven  out  of  the  State  by 
him. 


SECOND    fiCENB.  29$ 

The  next  seene  occurs  some  six  months  after  the 
opening  scandal,  this  record  of  the  firm  of  Field  & 
Shearman,  and  the  foregoing  words  from  Judge  Car- 
dozo.  And  this  scene  finds  Judge  Barnard  in  the  most 
intimate  relations  with  Fisk  and  the  very  men  whom, 
when  we  last  heard  him,  he  was  denouncing  as  "  thieves, 
scoundrels  and  rascals,"  granting  at  their  request  some  of 
tho  most  astounding  orders  that  ever  emanated  from  a 
court.  Judge  Cardozo  is  seen  doing  the  very  things  which 
when  we  last  heard  him  he  declared  himself  "  shocked  " 
at  the  very  idea  of,  and  "  trusted  he  had  seen  the  last  of 
it  in  this  high  tribunal" — taking  cases,  not  from  another 
district  merely,  but  from  a  fellow  judge  in  his  own  dis- 
trict, and  under  circumstances  far  more  aggravating  than 
those  in  tho  case  which  he  had  himself  so  severely  repro- 
bated and  declared  beyond  the  power  of  a  judge  only  a 
£ew  months  before.  And  the  firm  of  Field  &  Shearman  is 
disclosed  as  having  suddenly  ceased  their  warfare  upon 
the  judgo  whom  they  had  denounced  as  too  corrupt  to  be 
tolerated,  and  now  all  the  suits  of  their  distinguished 
railroad  client  are  dragged  before  this  very  judge  by 
hook  and  by  crook,  by  precisely  such  manoeuvres  as  the 
judge  had  declared  wholly  without  warrant  and  illegal, 
had  treated  as  sufficient  grounds  for  disregarding  proceed- 
ings, and  been  sustained  in  bis  course  by  tho  decision 
of  his  General  Term.  In  tho  Albany  &  Susquehanna 
war,  Barnard  (who  had  been  the  first  to  deny  the  right 
or  power)  and  Peckham  followed  each  other  with  counter 


296  THE    LAW'S   BELAY. 

injunctions  morning  after  morning,  each  one  tying  up  aH 
the  other  had  done,  till  the  law  fell  into  utter  contempt 
and  was  wholly  unheeded. 

The  numerous  suits  commenced  against  !Fisk  to  enforce 
the  contracts  entered  into  on  his  behalf  on  Black  Friday 
and  which  he  repudiated,  were  brought  in  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  probably  for  the  express  purpose  of 
avoiding  Barnard ;  but  when  they  were  all  commenced, 
that  judge  coolly  issued  an  order  commanding  all  these 
suits  to  be  transferred  from  the  Common  Pleas  and 
brought  before  him.  This  order  was  appealed  from  as 
being  quite  beyond  his  power.-  The  question  came  up 
in  the  General  Term  after  much  delay,  and  Barnard 
being  disqualified  from  sitting  in  review  of  one  of  his 
own  cases,  there  were  only  two  judges  to  pass  upon  it. 
Judge  Ingraham  promptly  decided  that  Barnard  had 
exceeded  his  authority  and  that  the  suits  could  not  be- 
taken out  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  the  manner  attempted. 
Cardozo  was  not  ready  to  decide,  so  the  case  had  another 
long  delay.  Being  at  length  forced  to  dispose  of  the 
question  somehow,  Cardozo  gave  no  opinion  at  all  on  the 
subject,  but  merely  failed  to  concur  with  Judge  Ingraham. 
Under  the  rule  in  such  cases,  where  the  Court  is  divided,, 
the  question  went  to  the  Second  (Brooklyn)  District, 
Here  it  was  promptly  decided  that  Barnard  had  no  such 
authority  as  he  had  assumed.  Thus,  after  a  year  and 
a  half  of  "the  law's  delay"  under  the  manoeuvring  of 
Field  &  Shearman  and  their  now  favorite  Judge  Bar- 


PACIFIC   E.  E.  WRIVKN   OTT   OF   KKW   YORK.  297 

Hard,  these  suits  came  back  to  where  they  were  com- 
menced, and  the  test  suit  was  decided  against  Fisk,  despite 
an  attempt  to  bribe  the  jury. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  Mr. 
Fisk  wanted  to  purchase  a  large  amount  of  stock  by  pay- 
ing only  a  certain  per  cent,  of  the  value  down  (as  is  gen- 
erally done  on  original  subscriptions),  that  he  might  have 
an  important  voice  in  its  councils.  This  offer(  was 
declined  and  he  was  permitted  to  have  only  so  much 
stock  as  he  would  pay  the  full  value  of  at  once.  Thia 
offended  him  and  he  was  bent  on  being  a  thorn  in  the 
side  of  the  great  corporation.  He  purchased  some  half 
dozen  shares  of  the  stock  and  then  commenced  a  suit 
against  the  company  to  compel  them  to  make  known  its 
affairs  to  him  as  a  stockholder.  In  the  course  of  the  suit 
of  course  it  was  made  necessary  to  have  the  books  of  the 
company  for  inspection.  The  officers  declined  to  give 
them  up.  Fisk  got  an  order  to  seize  them  and  a  score  of 
men  were  set  to  work  with  sledge  hammers  to  batter  in 
the  huge  safe  of  the  company  in  the  wall  of  their  office 
in  Nassau  Street.  The  proceeding  caused  much  excite- 
ment in  the  vicinity,  but  the  hammering  was  kept  up 
and  finally  the  heavy  plates  of  iron  yielded  and  the 
safe  was  opened.  The  company  were  so  indignant  at 
this  outrage  under  the  protection  of  the  Courts  that 
they  removed  their  headquarters  from  New  York  to 
Boston,  and  thus  one  of  the  greatest  corporations 
in  the  world  both  in  wealth  and  importance  was 


208  THE  HEATH  &  RAPHAEL  CASE 

literally  driven   out    of   New   York  by   Mr.    Fisk   and 
the  insecurity  which  they  felt  in  the  New  York  Courts. 

Some  English  owners  of  upwards  of  60,000  shares  of 
Erie  stock  sent  them  to  the  officers  of  the  company  for 
transfer  before  the  books  were  closed  for  election. 
Messrs.  Fisk  and  Gould  seized  every  one  of  these  shares 
and  got  an  order  from  Judge  Barnard  sustaining  them  in 
the  seizure,  which  was  nothing  but  a  daring  robbery. 
Legal  proceedings  were  commenced  by  the  owners,  but 
the  case  came  up  before  Barnard  and  he  put  it  down  for 
trial  after  election.  The  first  object  of  the  owners — to 
vote  on  their  stock — being  thus  hopelessly  gone,  they  were 
next  concerned  lest  they  should  lose  their  property  en- 
tirely. Judge  Barnard,  at  the  instigation  of  Fisk  and 
Gould,  had  appointed  a  receiver  who  had  taken  possession 
of  the  stock.  One  of  the  parties  being  a  foreigner,  a  suit 
was  commenced  in  the  United  States  Court  in  the  matter, 
the  stock  meantime  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  Bar- 
nard receiver.  When  the  suit  had  been  delayed  as  long 
as  possible  and  was  likely  to  come  on  and  be  decided  in  a 
way  to  take  the  property  out  of  the  custody  of  the  Bar- 
nard receiver,  Mr.  Fisk's  lawyers  served  a  notice  of  dis- 
continuance of  the  suit  in  the  United  States  Court,  and 
recommenced  proceedings  in  the  State  Court,  intending  to 
travel  over  this  same  course  of  delay  again.  It  was  soon 
found  that  this  dodge  would  not  work  and  the  matter  had 
to  be  left  to  the  United  States  Courts.  When  it  came  on 
for  trial,  all  the  Erie  clerks  who  wore  important  witnesses 


HECEIVTCXS.  1299 

in  the  matter  had  suddenly  disappeared,  reported  to  have 
gone  to  Europe,  and  Jay  Gould  when  on  the  stand  could 
not  seem  to  remember  anything.  This  farce  soon  leading 
to  very  hot  water,  and  an  order  being  issued  for  Jay 
Gould's  arrest  for  contempt,  the  desired  witnesses  and 
boots  were  forthcoming  and  Mr.  Gould's  memory  sud- 
denly became  excellent,  and  the  stock  was  finally  returned. 

A  receiver  is  an  officer  of  the  Court  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  property  in  litigation  to  see  that  no  harm  comes 
to  it  and  that  the  interests  of  neither  party  suffers  pond- 
ing proceedings.  He  stands  in.  the  place  of  the  Court  and 
is  supposed  to  be  indifferent  to  the  two  parties,  favoring 
neither.  Judge  Barnard's  first  act  in  favor  of  Messrs. 
Fisk  and  Gould  was  to  appoint  Jay  Gould  himself  a 
receiver  of  the  Erie  Railway  upon  Gould's  own  petition, 
he  being  the  president  of  the  road  at  the  time  and  the 
leader  of  one  of  the  hostile  parties. 

In  the  Albany  &  Susquchanna  war,  James  Fisk,  Jr., 
was  the  active  leader  of  one  of  the  factions,  yet  when  a 
receiver  of  that  road  was  petitioned  for  in  Fisk's  own 
suit,  James  Fisk,  Jr.,  was  the  disinterested  and  impartial 
receiver  whom  Judge  Barnard  thought  proper  to  appoint 
for  the  responsible  trust  and  to  represent  the  Court. 
And  when  a  receiver  of  the  stock  of  disputed  legality  in 
the  same  case  was  asked  for,  Judge  Barnard  appointed 
a  man  so  exceedingly  impartial  and  disinterested  that  he 
subsequently  voted  on  the  stock  in  favor  of  Mr.  Fisk, 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  only  man  who  conld  by  any 


A    GREAT    NAME   TAE5I8HED. 

possibility  have  had  any  right  to  vote  on  it  at  all,  and  for 
this  impartial  and  disinterested  service,  his  fee  was  the 
modest  sum  of  $15,000 ! 

It  is  a  long  road  that  has  no  turning,  and  at  length 
events  began  to  indicate  that  these  legal  scandals  and 
outrages  have  reached  the  length  of  their  tether.  All  at 
once,  the  great  firm  of  Field  &  Shearman  found  their 
reputation  for  professional  honor  hopelessly  blemished, 
their  social  status  sadly  weakened,  and  a  name  that  was 
near  the  pinnacle  of  lasting  fame  suddenly  sunk  in  dis- 
grace and  fouled  with  mud  flung  by  their  own  hand. 
They  were  made  to  realize  that,  even  in  New  York,  there 
are  some  things  which  may  not  be  done  with  social  and 
professional  impunity. 

The  following  is  the  sworn  statement  of  Jay  Gould  of 
lawyers'  fees  paid  by  the  Erie  Railway,  for  the  single 
year  1868: 

Eaton  &  Taylor $39,998  30 

D.  D.  &  D.  Field 31,289  10 

David  Dudley  Field 12,000  00 

Field  &  Shearman ! 5,000  00 

William  M.  Evarts 15,000  00 

C.  A.  Seward 24,000  00 

E.  W.  Stoughton  15,500  00 

John  TL.  Porter .......  X. ..., 22,000  00 

William  Fullerton 11,000  00 

John  E.  Burrill 21,000  00 

James  T.  Brady , 6,000  00 

A.  J.  Vanderpoel 10,000  00 

Brown,  Hall  &  Vanderpoel 1,000  00 

Edwards  Piorrepont .,..,..,.,...,....  30,000  00 


RICH    PREY    MAKES    TBT7B    MEN    THIEYE3.  801 

Martin  &  Smith $12,500  00 

J.  C.  Bancroft  Davis 10,612  00 

Levi  Underwood 11,002  00 

John  Ganson 15,000  00 

Ganson  &  Smith 2,031  50 

C.  N.  Totter 7,000  00 

Dimmick  &  Whitney 5,000  00 

J.  N.  Whiting 2,500  00 

William  H.  Morgan 2,177  80 

Cortlandt  Parker 3,10000 

Peter  Cagger ^....  2,000  00 

Samuel  Hand....  .*. 1,000  00 

L.Seymour 1,250  00 

J.  — .  Bosworth 1,000  06 

Chapman  &  Martin 1,00000      ' 

Isaac  W.  Scudder 1,000  00 

John  Hopper 1,500  00 

Devlin 1,000  00 

Lane ; ],COO  00 

H.Harris 1,000  00 

Lyman  Tremain 700  00 

Rumsey,  Jones  &  Robie 750  00 

David  Rumsey 500  00 

Bradley  &  Kendall 500  00 

Spencer,  Thomson  &  Mills 500  00 

L.  Zabriskie . .  500  00 


$330,510  70 

David  Dudley  Field,  Field  &  Shearman,  and  D.  D.  &  D. 
Field,  being  practically  one  and  the  same  firm,  the  amount 
paid  this  one  office  in  a  single  year  was  848,289.10. 

"  Rich  prey  makes  true  men  thieves ;" 

and  this  exhibit  abundantly  verifies  Mr.  Fisk's  character- 
istic assertion,  that  "  the  lawyers  lap  up  Erie  money  as 
kittens  lap  up  milk." 


:c;  .;o 


CHAPTER  XV. 


JOSIE    AND    THE     GUM    SHOES ANOTHEB.    MIDNIGHT    ABBEST— 

MISS  MANSFIELD EDWABD  S.  STOKES THE  SOFT  SPOT  IN  THE 

HEEL      OF      ACHILLES— HINC     ILL.&     LACHBTM.E — TOUCHINQ 

SCENES PUT  ME  IN  MY  LITTLE  BED SMOULDEBING    FIBES 

THE  VOLCANO  BBEAXS  OUT THE  ASSASSINATION. 

The  last  new  episode  in  Mr.  Fisk's  career  was  of  a 
nature  totally  different  from  all  its  predecessors,  seeming 
more  like  a  chapter  from  the  Iliad,  while  the  others 
savored  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  Its  opening  act  caused 
his  name  to  figure  conspicuously  in  the  papers  for  a  few 
days ;  its  last  laid  him  in  his  grave. 

Saturday  night,  January  7th,  1871,  the  footsteps  of  a 
young  man  were  dogged  about  the  streets  for  several 
hours,  till  he  was  finally  caught  at  the  Hoffman  House, 
and  arrested  on  charge  of  heavy  embezzlements  from  the 


ANOTflEB    MIDUIGHT    AEBEST.  303 

Brooklyn  Oil  Refining  Co.,  of  -which  he  was  part  owner 
and  the  secretary.  He  was  forced  to  lie  in  jail  over  Sun- 
day, but  readily  secured  bail  on  Monday,  when  the  exami- 
nation disclosed  that  his  arrest,  though  nominally  at  the 
instance  of  another  man,  was  really  instigated  by  Fisk, 
and  was  delayed  till  Saturday  night  for  the  express 
purpose  of  rendering  it  impossible  to  secure  bail  in  time 
to  avoid  remaining  in  jail  over  Sunday.  It  also  appeared 
that  there  was  a  modern  Helen  in  the  case,  that  slighted 
lov,i  accounted  for  the  milk  in  this  cocoanut,  and  that 
the  object  was,  not  to  punish  embezzlement,  but  to  gratify 
revenge  and  inspire  terror. 

Miss  Helen  Josephine  Mansfield,  a  beautiful  Boston 
girl,  was  born  December  15th,  1847.  Her  father  died 
when  she  was  quite  small,  and  her  mother  married  a  man 
named  Warren  for  her  second  husband.  In  her  seven- 
teenth year  she  and  her  mother  went  to  California  to  join 
Warren,  who  had  preceded  them  there,  and  was  an  editor 
cf  a  small  journal  in  San  Francisco.  Here  she  met  Frank 
lawlor,  an  actor,  married  him  in  September,  1864,  lived 
vith  him  about  two  years,  when  he  obtained  a  divorce, 
without  opposition  on  her  part,  both  living  in  New  York 
at  the  time.  The  decree  was  signed  by  Judge  Barnard. 
Sle  met  Mr.  Fisk  in  the  winter  of  18C8,  at  the  house  of 
Mss  Anna  Wood,  in  34th  street.  She  was  quite  poor 
at  the  time.  Mr.  Fisk  was  deeply  smitten  with  her  at 
sight,  and  immediately  lavished  upon  her  all  the  kindness 
for  which  he  was  noted  wherever  his  affections  were  en- 


304  MISS    MANSFIELD. 

listed.  In  a  few  weeks  she  that  had  been  almost  needy 
was  lavishly  supplied  with  silks  and  diamonds,  surrounded 
by  luxury,  her  every  desire  indulged.  The  flight  of  Erie 
officials  to  Jersey  City  soon  followed,  and  she  shared  all 
the  trials,  excitement  and  fun  of  Fisk's  memorable  exile, 
occupying  the  finest  suite  of  rooms  in  Taylor's  Hotel. 
Not  long  after  the  return  she  had  become  possessed  of 
sufficient  money  through  Fisk  to  purchase  the  brown 
stone  residence,  359  West  23rd  street,  near  the  Grand 
Opera  House  and  Erie  offices.  Here  she  lived  in  the  most 
luxurious  style,  bountifully  supplied  with  everything  that 
a  Sybarite  could  wish,  or  wealth  unlimited  procure.  She 
had  the  grandest  turnout  that  appeared  in  the  Park,  en« 
joyed  the  pleasures  of  Long  Branch,  and  was  a  conspicuous 
specimen  of  a  certain  type  of  beauty.  At  her  house  some 
of  the  most  important  and  peculiar  legal  papers  in  Eri« 
tactics  are  supposed  to  havo  been  drawn  up  by  Field  t 
Shearman,  and  there  Judge  Barnard  was  suspected  of  hold- 
ing extra  midnight  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Court  for 
Erie's  special  behoof.  Mr.  Fisk  doted  upon  her,  callel 
her  his  dear  "  Dolly"  and  "  Dumplins,"  made  her  his  co)\- 
fidante  in  all  the  secrets  of  the  Erie  ring,  and  often  wrote 
or  telegraphed  her  during  the  day  when  anything  occumd 
so  specially  pleasing  to  him  that  ho  wished  to  feel  hsr 
rejoicing  with  him  before  he  could  see  her  to  tell  her  at 
evening.  There  was  no  other  place  like  Josie's  for  him  in 
his  social  hours.  There  ho  lived,  there  he  invited  his  in- 
timates to  dine,  there  was  his  elysium. 


JOSIE. 

HELEN  JOSEPHINE  MANSFIELD. 


EDWAKD    S.    STOKES.  305 

\ 

Among  those  who  in  time  became  frequenters  of  Josie's 
elegant  parlors  was  Edward  S.  Stokes.  He  was  born  in 
Philadelphia  in  1841,  but  moved  to  New  York  with  his 
family  when  a  youth.  He  was  born  and  bred  to  an 
excellent  social  position,  and  when  about  twenty-one 
years  of  age  was  married  to  a  lovely  New  York  girl.  By 
birth,  training,  connections  and  tastes  he  was  a  gentle- 
man ;  but  under  the  pestiferous  influences  with  which 
Wall  street  impregnated  New  York  atmosphere,  he 
gradually  swerved  from  his  early  associations  and  habits, 
became  a  speculator  and  lived  the  usual  life  of  a  gay 
young  New  Yorker.  It  was  in  this  latter  course  that  he 
became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Fisk  and  formed  a  business 
connection  with  him  in  the  Brooklyn  Oil  Refining  Co., 
one  of  the  many  companies  in  which  Fisk  was  interested, 
and  which  secured  large  and  very  profitable  contracts  for 
furnishing  supplies  to  the  Erie  railroad.  At  this  time 
Mr.  Stokes  also  met  Miss  Mansfield,  and  he,  too,  found  a 
force  in  her  charms.  Being  an  exquisite  in  dress,  fine 
looking,  very  debonair  and  fascinating  in  his  manners, 
the  attraction  between  him  and  Josie  was  mutual  and 
ho  became  an  habitue  of  her  parlors  and  was  favored 
with  her  smiles  to  such  an  extent  that  Mr.  Fisk  began  to 
remonstrate.  This  she  resented,  and  after  one  of  the  dis- 
agreements in  consequence,  she  sent  her  benefactor  a  note 
discontinuing  his  acquaintance  instead  of  Stokes's,  and 
ordering  him  to  remove  from  her  house  everything  be- 
longing to  him,  leaving  behind  not  so  much  as  his  over- 
L 


306 


TEABS,    IDLE   TEABS. 


shoes.     This  note  naturally  affected  the  stont  heart  not  a 
little,  and  was  said  to  have  affected  him  to  tears. 


"TEAKS,  IDLE  TJKAK3"— FOR  JOSIE. 

The  Admiral  thought  that  if  Stokes,  his  friend  and 
business  associate,  knew  that  his  visits  to  "the  bower 
where  the  woodbine  twineth  "  were  displeasing  to  him — a 
man  of  so  much  power  and  consequence — they  would  bo 
discontinued,  so  he  ingenuously  took  the  note  that  "pirsed 
his  hart"  to  Stokes,  told  him  all,  and,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  said,  "  See  hero,  Ned,  she  wont  even  let  mo  leavo 
my  gum  shoes  in  tho  house !"  Stokes  endeavored  to 
make  light  of  the  matter  and  said  all  would  soon  como 


THE   HASP   THAT   ONCE   THBOUOH   TABA*S   HALLS.        807 

round  right  again.  In  vain  !  Nothing  would  satisfy  but 
a  positive  promise  to  "  keep  away  from  that  bower." 
This,  to  Mr.  Fisk's  great  surprise,  being  refused,  he  next 
tried  a  command  and  a  threat.  This  worked  no  better, 
and  the  Admiral  returned  to  his  marble  palace  with 
clouded  brow. 

The  heart  that  once  on  Erie's  walls 

The  soul  of  greatness  shed, 
Now  sits  as  sad  in  Erie's  halla 

As  if  that  soul  were  fled. 
So  sleeps  the  prido  of  former  days; 

So  glory's  thrill  is  o'er 
When  Josie,  in  her  altered  ways, 

Throws  gum  shoes  out  the  door. 

No  more  to  fleets  and  buttons  bright 

The  heart  of  Erie  swells  ; 
The  chord  alone  that  wakes  at  night 

Its  tale  of  ruin  tells. 
No  charm  hath  now  the  French  ballet, 

Thrown  in  -with  Opera  Bouffe, 
To  chase  the  deepset  gloom  away 

That  sighs  'neath  Erie's  roof. 
The  joy  of  all  those  former  wiles 

Its  whilom  power  hath  shed.       iv1«il 
Prince  Erie  weeps  for  Josie's  smiles 

And  sobs,  "  My  gum  shoes,  Ned  I" 

The  Admiral  now  resolved  that  the  man  who  had  dared 
to  thwart  his  wishes  in  this  matter  should  feel  the  mighty 
weight  of  his  crushing  power.  Soon  Stokes  was  informed 
of  the  rescinding  of  certain  verbal  contracts  for  large 
amounts  which  ho  had  with  the  Erie  Railway.  Next 
he  was  asked  either  to  sell  out  his  share  in  the  Brook- 
lyn Oil  Refining  Co.,  or  buy  out  the  other  owners/  He 


308  THAT   APPLE    ON    MOITNT   IDA. 

accepted  the  latter  alternative  and  an  agreement  upon 
price  was  fixed  between  him  and  Fisk;  but  the  other 
owners  would  not  assent  to  the  arrangement  made  by 
Fisk,  so  it  fell  through.  From  these  and  other  indica- 
tions, Stokes  knowing  he  had  incurred  the  displeasure 
and  enmity  of  Fisk,  sent  him  a  note  asking  for  an  inter- 
view at  Delmonico's,  that  they  might  reconcile  such  an 
unworthy  difference.  The  Admiral  responded  to  the 
appointment,  and  on  reaching  the  rendezvous  remarked 
to  Stokes,  "  I  thought  I  could  cut.  nearer  a  man's  heart 
than  any  one  in  New  York,  but  you  go  plump  through 
it."  The  interview  promised  little  result,  the  one  thing 
that  .would  satisfy  Fisk  being  just  the  one  thing  that 
the  other  would  not  promise,  and  therefore  Stokes  pro- 
posed that  they  should  leave  it  to  Josie  to  decide  between 
them.  Fisk  jumped  at  the  proposal.  He  had  to  drill, 
with  the  Ninth  that  evening,  and  left  the  famed  restau- 
rant saying  to  Stokes,  "  Meet  me  in  Josie's  at  half  past 
ten." 

At  the  later  interview  the  parties  holding  the  same 
determination,  Josie  declined  to  decide  between  them, 
seeing  no  reason  why  they  should  not  all  be  friends, 
neither  concerning  himself  about  the  doings  of  the  other. 
But  Fisk  was  inexorable  in  the  stand  he  had  taken 
and  said,  "  It  won't  do,  Josie  !  You  can't  run  two  engines 
on  one  track  in  contrary  directions  at  the  same  time." 
The  interview  was  prolonged  till  the  small  hours  of  the 
night,,  and  was  said  to  have  been  attended  with  more 


A  BOSKET'S  NEST. 

tears,  but  ended  at  last  without  any  change  of  the  situa- 
tion. The  proud  Admiral,  chagrinned  that  the  decision 
was  not  quick  in  his  favor,  now  resolved  to  abandon 
"Dumplins  "  forever  and  wreak  his  vengeance  upon  his 
triumphant  rival.  The  next  step  in  the  matter  was  the 
arrest  of  Stokes  on  the  charge  of  embezzlement,  when 
all  the  facts  as  related  came  out  in  the  papers.  The 
charge  was  speedily  dismissed  as  unsustained,  and  the 
whole  affair  was  quickly  smothered,  it  proving  to  have 
stirred  up  a  more  than  usually  troublesome  hornet's 
nest.  Josie  knew  more  about  Erie  matters,  and  also 
certain  doings  of  the  Tammany  Ring,  than  the  Erie 
managers  and  Tammany  Sachems  could  then  afford  to 
have  made  public.  The  price  of  her  silence  in  regard  to 
them  was,  the  discontinuance  of  all  hostility  to  Stokes, 
and  a  full  liquidation  of  all  his  rights,  legal,  equitable 
and  pecuniary,  and  this  the  said  interested  parties  ob- 
liged the  Admiral  to  accept. 

The  next  day  after  the  above  facts  appeared  in  the 
papers,  Fisk  addressed  a  characteristic  letter  to  the 
World,  denying  many  of  the  statements  and  reminding 
that  paper  of  the  "sacred  mandate,"  "Thou  shalt  not 
bear  false  witness  against  thy  neighbor."  But  the  most 
amusing  part  of  this  communication  was  not  in  the  body  of 
the  letter  itself,  but  in  the 

"  P.  S.  I  only  wish,  where  your  article  states  I  burst 
into  tears  that  you  gave  the  truth.  Years  ago,  before  the 
world  battled  me  so  fearfully,  I  have  a  vague  recollection 


310  P.    8. — PUT  MB   IN   MT   LITTLE   BED. 

that  emotions  could  be  aroused  which  would  call  forth 
tears,  but  that  is  many  years  ago,  far  back,  before  energy 
had  taken  such  complete  hold  of  us  all,  and  before  ambition 
swayed  the  minds  of  men  as  it  now  does.  But  tho  mem- 
ory of  those  days  is  lasting  and  I  can  recall  that  when 
night  came  a  mother's  hand  was  laid  upon  my  head, 
and  I  was  taught  to  repeat  a  simple  prayer  and  then  I 
heard  the  words,  *  My  son,  I  must  put  you  in  your  little 
bod.',!f) 

«J.F.,Jr.» 

The  rod  which  Stokes  held  over  the  head  of  his  enemy 
in  the  possession  of  so  many  damaging  secrets  of  Erie 
and  Tammany,  was  a  tempting  one  to  wield,  and  he  was 
inclined  to  make  the  most  of  it.  He  made  claims  upon 
Fisk  which  the  latter  declared  exhorbitant.  Finally  the 
matter  was  referred  to  Clarence  A.  Seward  (a  son  of  the 
Hon.  William  H.),  and  in  his  hands  were  placed  certain 
letters  that  Fisk  had  written  Josie  in  his  doting  hours, 
and  which  contained  the  secrets  that  so  seriously  impli- 
cated the  two  Rings,  and  also  a  prominent  and  highly  re- 
spected firm  of  Boston  bankers.  Mr.  Seward  delayed  his 
decision  till  Stokes  grew  very  impatient,  and  then 
awarded  Stokes  $10,000  (only  a  small  portion  of  his  claim), 
handed  the  compromising  letters  over  to  Peter  B.  Sweeny 
for  safe  keeping,  and  stai-ted  on  a  tour  to  Europe.  Stokes 
complained  bitterly  of  this  award  as  a  fraud,  and  it  was 
insinuated  that  Mr.  Seward  had  been  bribed  by  Erie 
money.  However,  Stokes  took  the  $10,000,  but  did  not 
regard  the  matter  as  settled  and  waited  for  opportunities. 


TUB   COMBAT   DEEPENS.  311 

,  The  next  move  was  by  Miss  Mansfield,  who  sued  Fisk 
in  September  to  recover  $50,000  which  she  claimed  to 
have  entrusted  to  him  to  invest  for  her  in  their  halcyon 
days.  In  this  suit  it  was  sought  to  introduce  certain  affi- 
davits of  Miss  Mansfield  and  Stokes,  rehearsing  the  sub- 
stance of  the  compromising  letters  that  had  slipped  out  of 
their  possession.  It  was  of  vital  importance  to  Fisk  and 
Erie  that  these  affidavits  should  be  suppressed.  Erie's 
Judge  Barnard  was  just  then  out  with  Fisk  and  the  Kings, 
and,  despairing  of  success  before  any  of  the  New  York 
judges,  recourse  was  had  to  the  old.  dodge  of  going  over 
to  Brooklyn,  where  they  had  a  facile  tool  in  Judge  Pratt. 
By  making  one  Potoon  a  party  to  the  case,  and  alleging; 
that  he  was  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  the  Brooklyn  Judge 
was  secured  jurisdiction  in  the  case  and  speedily  granted 
an  injunction  against  using  the  affidavits  or  publishing 
the  letters.  It  finally  turned  out  that  there  was  no  such 
person  as  Potoon  in  existence,  so  the  Brooklyn  Judge 
lost  jurisdiction  and  the  case  came  back  to  New  York  to 
be  decided  by  Judge  Brady. 

During  the  delay  incident  to  these  proceedings  Miss 
Mansfield  commenced  another  suit  against  Fisk  for  libel, 
bringing  it  in  the  Yorkville  Police  Court.  A  colored  boy 
named  Richard  E.  King,  who  had  been  long  in  Miss  Mans- 
field's employment,  was  induced  by  Fisk  to  leave  her,  and 
then  to  make  an  affidavit  to  the  effect  that  he  had  heard 
Miss  Mansfield,  her  cousin  Mrs.  Williams,  and  Stokes  talk- 
ing together  and  laying  plans  how  they  could  make  money 


312  MISS   MANSFIELD   tTNPEE   CBOSS-FIBE. 

out  of  Fisk.  After  making  this  affidavit,  the  boy  King 
disappeared,  and  could  not  bo  found.  The  publication  of 
this  affidavit  was  the  ground  of  the  libel  suit  on  which 
Mr.  Fisk  was  arrested  and  gave  bail.  The  case  was  first 
called  Saturday,  November  18,  1871.  On  that  morning, 
Fisk  appeared  in  naval  uniform,  and  there  was  a  great 
sensation  in  and  about  the  court  room.  Owing  to  a  mis- 
take by  her  lawyer,  Miss  Mansfield  left  early,  and  was 
not  present  when  called  as  the  first  witness,  so  tho  case 
was  adjourned,  one  week.  Saturday  morning,  November 
25th,  the  sensation  was  repeated.  Fisk,  Mansfield  and 
Stokes  were  all  present.  Fisk  left  early,  but  Miss  Mans- 
field took  the  stand,  and  was  under  examination  several 
hours.  She  maintained  the  mostimpertubable  self-posses- 
sion throughout,  enduring  the  severe  cross-examination  of 
Fisk's  lawyers  without  the  slightest  confusion  or  loss  of 
temper.  Her  bearing  challenged  the  wondering  admira- 
tion of  jevery  one  present.  Her  examination  was  not  fin- 
ished when  he  case  was  adjourned  for  another  week. 
But  instead  of  proceeding  the  following  Saturday,  it  was 
adjourned  from  time  to  time  till  the  eventful  Saturday, 
Jan.  Gth,  1872.  On  that  morning  Fisk  did  not  appear, 
but  Miss  Mansfield  was  again  called  to  the  stand,  and  so 
bitter  was  her  cross-examination,  so  searching  and  mor- 
tifying were  the  questions  relative  to  her  condition  when 
she  met  Mr.  Fisk,  &c.,  &c.,  that  all  her  remarkable  nerve 
and  fortitude  gave  way  and  she  burst  into  tears.  This  is 
supposed  to  have  excited  the  revenge  of  Stokes,  who  was 


THE   HANDWEITIS0   ON   THE   WAUL.  313 

present  at  the  time,  and  was  himself  next  put  upon  the 
stand  and  made  to  answer  some  very  disagreeable  and 
difficult  questions.  Altogether,  the  day  seemed  to  have 
damaged  the  bright  promise  of  the  previous  day's  examina- 
tion very  materially,  and  their  feelings  in  the  matter  must 
have  been  very  much  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  the 
day  before  Judge  Brady  had  rendered  a  very  unexpected 
decision  in  the  case  before  him,  sustaining  Judge  Pratt's 
injunction  against  the  publication  or  use  of  the  affidavits 
or  letters.  Things  looked  as  if  Fisk  waa  getting  the  best 
of  them  everywhere.  They  knew,  too,  that  he  had  been 
exerting  himself  to  get  Stokes  indicted  for  an  attempt  at 
blackmailing  in  instigating  these  suits.  In  this  state  of  feel- 
ing they  parted  at  the  court  house,  Miss  Mansfield  and  her 
cousin  Mrs.  Williams  going  in  one  carriage  to  her  residence 
in  23d  street,  Stokes  and  his  lawyers  taking  another  car- 
riage to  Delmonico's  restaurant,  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Chambers  street,  where  the  three  took  lunch.  While  they 
were  there,  the  spider-eyed  Judge  Barnard  came  in  and 
said  to  the  district  attorney,  one  of  Stokes' s  lawyers, 
that  the  Grand  Jury  had  found  an  indictment  against 
Stokes  for  an  attempt  at  blackmailing.  Stokes  is  sup- 
posed to  have  heard  this  remark  and  been  rendered 
desperate  by  it.  He  saw  the  waters  closing  around  him 
on  every  side.  Years  of  a  reckless,  gay,  exciting  life  were 
showing  their  harvest  of  thorns  and  thistles,  and  had 
already  made  his  black  hair  prematurely  gray.  He  had 
sacrificed  family,  good  name,  wife  and  child,  for  pleasures 


314  SHADOWING    HIS   VICTIH — THE   8HOOTIN0. 

that  "  in  their  triumph  die ;"  a  once  fine  fortune  had 
dwindled  away  in  an  unequal  contest,  and  he  now  saw 
himself  falling  into  the  power  of  his  enemy.  He  left  his 
lawyers  hastily,  hired  a  coup6  and  was  driven  to  the  Hofi- 
man  House,  where  ho  lived ;  after  going  to  his  room  for 
a  few  minutes  ho  was  driven  down  Twenty-third  street, 
and  was  seen  sitting  in  the  coupe  before  tho  Grand  Opera 
House,  looking  up  to  Fist's  window.  By  some  unknown 
means  ho  learned  that  Fisk  was  going  to  call  at  the  Grand 
Central  Hotel  at  about  four  o'clock.  With  this  knowl- 
edge he  was  driven  down  Broadway  a  short  distance  be- 
yond the  hotel,  got  out  6f  the  carriage,  paid  the  hackman, 
walked  back  to  tho  Grand  Central  Hotel,  went  up  stairs 
and  took  his  position  at  the  head  of  the  staircase  lead- 
ing to  the  ladies'  entrance.  He  had  not  long  to  wait.  A 
few  minutes  after  four  o'clock  Mr.  Fisk's  carriage  drew 
up  before  the  ladies  entrance ;  he  cleftly  alighted,  crossed 
tho  sidewalk  with  his  usual  air,  in  the  height  of  spirits,  as  if 
this  life  were  all  a  charm  with  nothing  beyond  it,  passed 
through  the  door  and  ascended  seven  steps  to  the  first  land- 
ing when  he  looked  up  and  saw  Stokes  standing  above  with 
something  in  his  hand.  As  his  eyes  caught  that  some- 
thing it  was  discharged  and  he  fell,  crying  "  Oh !"  He  got 
partly  Up  when  another  shot  was  fired  and  took  effect  in 
in  his  arm.  Ho  was  carried  up  stairs,  and  laid  upon  a 
bed,  and  tho  doctor  of  the  hotel  was  immediately  at  his 
fiido.  After  the  shooting,  Stokes  throw  his  pistol  under  a 
sofa  in  the  ladies'  parlor,  descended  to  the  main  hall  and 


ADSUM.  315 

endeavored  to  escape  by  the  back  or  Mercer  street  en- 
trance; but  tho  cry  of  "man  shot!"  being  raised  up 
stairs,  tho  fleeing  assassin  was  caught  and  held.  An 
examination  disclosed  that  ono  of  the  two  shots  had  mado 
only  a  flesh  wound  in  tho  left  arm,  while  tho  other  had 
entered  tho  abdomen,  five  inches  above  the  navel  and  two 
inches  to  the  right  of  tho  median  lino.  The  latter  was  at 
once  perceived  to  be  probably  mortal.  The  news  spread 
like  \vild  fire,  and  in  a  few  minutes  was  known  all  over 
the  city.  A  crowd  thronged  tho  hotel,  and  in  a  short  tirno 
Jay  Gould,  .William  M.  Tweed,  David  Dudley  Field  and 
other  intimate  friends  of  tho  wounded  man  had  gathered 
in  tho  room  whero  ho  lay.  After  his  wounds  wero  dressed 
he  made  an  ante  mortem  statement  of  the  circumstances 
of  the  shooting,  identified  Stokes,  who  was  brought  be- 
fore him,  as  tho  man  who  shot  him,  and  then  made  his  will. 
Ho  remained  calm  and  boro  himself  with  excellent  nerve, 
seeming  to  s;iffer  little  pain.  About  10  o'clock  tho  opiates 
administered  began  to  affect  him  and  he  slept  till  about  4 
o'clock  Sunday  morning,  when  ho  woke,  said  ho  was  "  do- 
ing nicely,"  asked  for  some  water,  and  coon  fell  asleep 
again.  About  9  o'clock  ho  woko  again  and  was  now  evi- 
dently sinking  rapidly.  IEo  remained  unconscious  arid 
easy  till  a  quarter  to  eleven,  when  the  mysterious  ch.ange 
came  calmly  over  him,  and  the  man  of  sensations  was 
dead. 

As  if  giving  the  last  touch  of  dramatic  propriety  to  this 
modern  Iliad,  precisely  a  year  had  passed  in  its  perform- 


316  THE  BECOBD  OF  ONE  YEAR. 

ance  before  the  public.  On  the  first  Sunday  of  1871  the 
curtain  rises  upon  a  young  man  secured  in  jail  for  the 
day  by  a  mean  trick,  the  victim  of  hell-born  revenge, 
while  the  pursuer  rolls  the  morsel  of  triumph  under  his 
tongue  con  arnore,  and  glories  in  the  fancied  terror  of  his 
abused  power.  On  the  first  Sunday  of  1872  the  prison 
door  again  closes  upon  the  same  young  man,  but  he  is  the 
slayer  now,  and  seems  to  glory  in  the  notoriety  of  his 
cowardly  act,  while  he  who  then  felt  triumphant  and  pan- 
oplied in  a  power  that  secured  him  from  danger,  is  shot 
down  like  a  dog,  without  a  moment's  warning,  unsuspect- 
ing, and  renders  up  his  life,  in  turn  the  victim  of  his  own 
revenge. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

AT     HOME — HIS     LEISURE    HOTTES IN    THE     PAEK AT    LONG 

BEANCH AMONG   HIS   MEN MES.    FISK THE    DEAD    MAECH 

THE    LAST   JOUENEY   BY   EAIL THE    GBAVE. 

Mr.  risk's  private  life  was  on  the  samo  sumptuous 
scale  of  grandeur  and  luxuriance  as  his  career  in 
the  business  world  and  the  acts  which  made  him 
known  to  the  public.  His  residence  was  at  813 
West  Twenty-third  Street,  next  door  to  his  Erie  castle, 
and  nothing  that  wealth  could  bring  was  spared 
in  its  accommodations  and  supplies.  He  kept  a  sta- 
ble of  fine  horses,  seeming  to  delight  more  in  a  fine, 
large  turnout  than  in  a  fast  team.  He  was  often  seen  in 
the  Park  or  on  Fifth  Avenue,  with  a  beautiful  four-in- 
hand,  and  sometimes  six  fine  horses,  three  blacks  on  one 
side  and  three  whites  on  the  other.  Not  unfrequently  he 
held  the  reins  himself,  which  he  could  do  in  a  style  that 
few  owners  of  a  turnout  can  boast.  On  his  large  drag 
or  coach,  were  four  colored  men  in  livery,  two  footmen 
behind,  and  the  driver  and  assistant  in  front.  No  other 


818  PEBSONAL    TEAITS. 

turnout  in  the  city  created  anything  like  the  sensation  his 
did.  His  summer  retreat  was  at  Long  Branch,  and  here, 
as  elsewhere,  during  the  season,  ho  appeared  in  the 
grandest  style,  had  the  most  striking  turnout,  and  attract- 
ed universal  attention. 

No  man  would  go  farther  or  spend  more  for  revenge 
than  ho  if  ho  felt  himself  wronged ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  no  man  was  moro  Had  hearted  or  ready  than  he 
with  his  means,  when  ho  thought  ho  could  do  good,  help 
the  deserving,  or  relieve  suffering.  Ho  was  quick  to 
appreciate  a  favor  and  never  forgot  it.  All  his  im- 
mense business  affairs  were  attended  to  as  so  much 
play,  seeming  not  to  weigh  him  down  with  any  care 
or  trouble.  "With  half  a  dozen  enterprises  on  hand, 
any  one  of  which  would  be  all  that  most  men  could  at- 
tend to,  ho  seemed  as  free  from  care  as  a  school  boy, 
dashed  off  his  duties  with  astounding  rapidity,  and 
was  facetious  and  full  of  fun  all  'the  time.  No  being 
was  ever  more  self-sufficient  and  self-reliant.  He  satis- 
fied himself  and  acted  upon  his  own  ideas.  If  others 
liked  what  he  did,  it  was  well ;  if  not,  it  was  equally  well. 
He  wanted  everything  in  his  power,  and  depended  upon 
nobody  that  ho  could  not  command.  Ho  was  not  harsh 
or  offensive,  but  the  reverse,  in  tho  exercise  of  his 
authority ;  yet  all  about  him  must  tacitly  acknowledge  it. 
Ho  was  so  perfectly  affable  with  every  one,  whether  of 
high  or  low  degree  ;  his  manner,  was  so  full  of  that  hail-fel- 
low well  met  style  to  every  one  with  whom  he  came  in  con- 


MRS.    FISX. 

tact ;  ho  had  such  strong  sympathy  for  the  merry  element 
of  life  and  was  so  constantly  full  of  fun,  he  was  liked  nof  a 
little  by  the  army  of  employes  and  retainers  that  sur- 
rounded him  in  his  Erie  offices,  his  theatres,  his  regiment, 
and  his  navy. 

Mr.  Fisk  was  married  quite  early  in  life  to  Miss  Lucy 
D.  Moore,  of  Springfield,  Mass.  When  he  came  io  New 
York  she  remained  in  Boston,  preferring  that  for  her  resi- 
dence. She  lived  in  a  style  that  was  a  fitting  counterpart 
of  her  husband's,  like  him,  was  very  generous  of  the 
ample  means  at  her  disposal,  and  has  made  not  a  few- 
hearts  happy  and  grateful  by  her  kindness.  She  had  a 
beautiful  villa  at  Newport,  and  her  turnout  was  the 
grandest  that  appeared  on  Bellevuo  avenue.  Despite 
his  eccentric  career  their  relations  were  always  pleasant. 
The  news  of  the  shooting  was  telegraphed  her  ii* 
Boston.  She  left  immediately  and  reached  him  the 
next  morning  about  seven  o'clock ;  but  he  never  spoke  or 
seemed  to  recognize  any  one  after  her  arrival.  His  will 
left  all  his  property  to  her,  except  $100,000  to  his  sister, 
an  annuity  of  $3,000  to  his  father  and  mother,  and  an- 
nuities of  $2,000  each  to  Minnie  F.  Morse  and  Eosie  C. 
Morse. 

Monday,  January  5th,  1872,  the  morning  papers  an- 
nounced that  his  funeral  would  take  place  that  day  at  the 
Grand  Opera  House,  where  his  body  would  lie  in  state. 
Hours  before  the  appointed  time,  one  of  the  largest  crowds 
ever  drawn  together  in  New  York  had  gathered  in  the 


320  THE    OBSEQUIES. 

vicinity  and  every  place  that  might  afford  even  a  passing 
glimpse  of  the  coffin  was  packed  with  people.  From  the 
.moment  the  doors  were  opened  to  the  throng,  a  swqllen 
stream  of  humanity  flowed  in  and  past  to  get  a  last  view 
of  the  face  till  time  forbade  its  longer  continuance.  The 
brief  funeral  services  over,  the  solemn  procession  was 
formed.  At  its  head,  after  the  necessary  force  of  police, 
was  the  band  in  which  he  had  taken  so  much  pride  and 
which  existed  only  through  him.  Laboring  men  from  all 
the  varied  industries  with  which  he  had  been  connected 
-turned  out  in  full  force.  The  brigade  in  which  ho  was 
Colonel  was  ordered  out  to  pay  the  tribute  due  his  rank, 
his  own  Ninth  regiment  forming  the  guard  of  honor. 
Behind  the  hearse  came  his  favorite  black  charger,  and 
then  the  long  line  of  carriages  containing  his  family,  the 
Erie  officials,  and  those  with  whom  he  had  been  intimate. 
The  band  touched  the  wild  strains  of  the  "Dead  March 
in  Saul,"  and  the  procession  started  through  the  street 
packed  with  humanity,  passed  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel, 
the  balcony  and  every  window  of  which,  as  well  as  of  all 
the  neighboring  houses,  were  crowded  .with  spectators. 
The  cortege  wound  slowly  through  Madison  Square, 
turned  to  the  East,  and  reached  the  New  York  and  Now 
Haven  depot,  whore  the  coffin  was  placed  in.  the  "funeral 
car.  The  train  drew  out,  and  James  Fisk,  J'r.,  had 
passed  away  from  New  York  forever,  leaving  it  as  ho  had 
lived  in  it — the  centre  of  a  profound  sensation. 

There   seemed  a  weird  propriety  in  the  tragic  close. 


EDWARD    S.    STOKES, 


CHABITT  COVEEETH   A  MULTITUDE   OP   SINS.  321 

Dramatic  harmony  could  hardly  have  made  it  otherwise. 
A  tragic  end  was  almost  to  be  expected  for  a  career  that 
scrupled  not  to  cross  men  in  matters  that  exasperate  the 
most  desperate  passions,  and  there  had  been  not  a  few 
occasions  in  it  where  perhaps  his  violent  end  would  have 
drawn  to  him  no  pity  ;  but  the  manner  and  circumstances 
of  his  death  turned  to  the  man  a  current  of  sympathy 
that  else  he  never  would  have  had.  A  strange  influence 
rested  upon  all  the  crowd  and  all  realized  anew  and  more 
vividly  the  awfulness  of  sudden  death,  a  violent  sudden 
death.  No  one  defended  the  morality  of  his  nature  or 
denied  that  the  world  and  society  could  but  be  greatly  the 
worse  for  every  such  career ;  but  the  mysterious  power  of 
death  to  silence  censure  and  open  the  heart  to  the' consid- 
eration of  redeeming  traits  was  intensified  by  the  cruelty 
of  his  murder,  and  lead  many  to  admit  for  the  first  time 
that  his  charity,  kindness  of  heart  and  mental  endow- 
ments were  all  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  his  moral 
deficiencies.  Many  kind,  noble-hearted  acts  were  freely 
told  of  him  now.  And  might  it  not  be,  too,  that  he  had 
in  some  degree  been  made  the  scapegoat  of  moral  ob- 
liquities not  wholly  his  ?  Was  he  not  a  legitimate  out- 
growth of  the  prevailing  morality  of  New  York  ?  The 
legal  tactics  that  scandalized  the  country  in  his  name 
were  not  his  work,  but  that  of  men  of  the  most  eminent 
professional  and  social  standing,  hired  for  the  purpose. 
The  judicial  fiats  that  robbed  many  men  of  their  rights 
and  dues,  were  not  issued  by  him,  but  by  Judges 


322     BENDER  UNTO  CLESAB  THE  THINGS  THAT  ABE 

whom  ho  found  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
If  infamous  bills  passed  tho  Legislature  for  his  special 
behoof,  they  passed  by  the  votes  of  the  people's  chosen, 
and  were  signed  by  the  Governors  of  the  State.  The 
crucible  of  death  cleared  him  of  much  that  had  been 
heaped  upon  him  where  others  were  more  to  blame,  more 
false  to  their  higher  trusts.  The  grave  open  to  receive 
him,  men's  minds  leaped  forward  to  the  judgment  of  his- 
tory and  saw  that  he  only  lived,  openly  and  without  dis- 
guise, much  as  those  who  passed  for  his  betters  and  held 
positions  of  honor,  lived  and  acted  in  secret,  adding  to 
their  crimes  one  he  never  wore — hypocrisy. 

How  giant-like  his  mental  powers  and  executive  abilities 
were,  th*e  duties  left  vacant  by  his  death  and  the  influence 
of  the  event  on  many  great  interests,  made  impressively 
manifest.  Who  could  step  into  his  place  and  dis- 
charge all  his  multifarious  duties?  A  dozen  men  were 
needed,  and  then  nothing  would  move  as  he  made  it  move. 
The  news  of  his  assassination  produced  a  sensation  second 
only  to  that  of  President  Lincoln's  throughout  his  own 
land  and  in  Europe.  It  had  a  marked  effect  upon  the 
London  Stock  Exchange.  Tho  effect  may  not  have  been 
complimentary,  but  it  at  least  bespoke  his  abilities.  He 
had  many  of  the  mental  (and  moral,  too)  traits  that  made 
a  Bismarck,  and  had  he  been  an  educated  man,  he  would 
undoubtedly  have  led  an  equally  prominent  career  in  a 
different  field  and  written  his  name  upon  the  history  of 
his  country  as  one  of  her  most  remarkable  public  men. 


TO  BEATTLEBOBO-THE  CIRCLE  COMPLETE.     323 


The  last  railroad  journey,  the  funeral  train  that  bore 
him  back  to  his  early  home  at  Brattleboro,  attracted  an 
interest  that  attaches  only  to  a  remarkable  man.  At  all 
the  stations  along  the  road  over  which  it  passed,  crowds 
gathered,  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  anything  connected 
with  the  man  and  the  final  tragedy.  It  was  near  mid- 
night when  the  train  reached  Brattleboro.  A  night  more 
drear,  more  weirdly  in  keeping  with  the  occasion,  could 
not  well  be.  Snow  covered  the  landscape,  the  mountains 
towered  above  in  their  gloom,  and  a  cutting,  desolate  wind 
sent  a  shiver  through  the  multitude  waiting  amid  the 
wild  scene  for  the  coming  back  of  one  whose  boyhood  and 
early  life  had  run  beside  their  own,  who  had  gone  out 
from  them  to  lead  a  career  that  excites  in  them  a  peculiar 
wonder,  because  of  their  knowing  more  intimately  than 
others  how  small  the  beginning  —  coming  back  for  the 
last  rites  at  their  hands.  He  was  taken  to  the  Revere 
House,  where  we  early  found  him,  and  the  circle  is  com- 
plete. He  has  been  out,  made  the  world  know  him  as 
few  are  ever  known  by  sheer  force  of  their  own  abilities, 
and  has  been  brought  back  to  be  buried  at  the  age  of 
thirty-six. 

With  the  gray  dawn  of  Tuesday  morning,  January  9th, 
1872,  picturesque  vehicles  of  all  variety  of  non-descript  pat- 
terns begin  to  pour  into  the  quaint  village  of  Brattleboro, 
all  heavily  freighted  with  people  of'  the  country  round 
eager  to  witness  the  last  ceremonies  over  the  man  who  has 
made  so  much  noise  in  the  world.  Many  were  there  who, 


324  THE   TINAL   CEEEMONT. 

as  children,  in  middle  life,  or  even  old  age,  had  looked  up- 
on him  with  something  of  wonder  when  his  form  was 
familiar  to  them  in  his  earliest  career.  The  tragic  close 
has  impressed  them  with  an  awe,  a  wonder,  a  shudder,  un- 
known to  the  denizens  of  the  city  where  it  fell.  Voices 
are  hushed  to  their  lowest  tones ;  movements  are  slow  and 
careful,  as  if  in  fear  of  disturbing  Death.  Something  akin 
to  stupor  rests  upon  them  all,  as  if  unable  to  comprehend 
how  such  things  can  be,  as  though  doubting  if  it  be 
real.  The  gold-mounted  rosewood  casket  is  placed  in  a 
position  for  them  to  pass  by  and  look  upon  the  face  of  the 
dead.  He  lies  in  his  elegant  full  uniform  of  a  Colonel, 
with  his  beautiful  sword  beside  him.  They  saw  the  begin- 
ning, they  have  seen  the  end.  The  awe  pervading  the 
throng  deepens  and  becomes  more  dread.  Brief  and  sim- 
ple services  are  held,  and  the  last  procession,  plain  and 
wholly  unostentatious,  is  formed  and  winds  through  the 
street,  over  the  bridge,  up  the  steep  hill,  to  the  grave. 
It  is  a  bleak,  dreary  day,  and  the  plain,  unornamented, 
treeless  burial  ground  is  in  keeping  with  the  day.  It  is 
at  the  southern  border  of  the  village,  upon  a  bluff  rising 
abruptly  from  the  mellifluous  Connecticut,  with  Mount 
Mantasket  towering  up  gloomily,  jusi  across  the  river, 
in  New  Hampshire.  Snow  covers  the  landscape,  and  the 
vehicles  in  the  final  procession  are  sleighs.  The  casket  is 
lowered  to  its  place  in  the  ground,  the  first  shovelfull  of 
earth  grates  down  upon  its  lid;  the  grief-stricken  wife, 
sister,  mother  and  friend,  are  led  away,  tho  officers  of  the 


EIC   JA.CET.  325 

Ninth  are  called  into  line  and  given  the  "  order — march !" 
and   James   Fislc,  Jr.,  is  alone  for  his  long  rest. 

Homely  and  desolate  though  the  graveyard  be  in  itself, 
it  commands  a  view  rarely  equalled  in  surpassing  loveli- 
ness. Here  summer  is  charming  in  beautifully-nestled 
mountain  scenery,  and  whispers  only  of  quietude,. happi- 
ness and  purity ;  here  the  tints  of  autumn  leaves  are  of 
unrivalled  brilliancy  and  variety,  clothing  the  entire  land- 
scape in  a  grandeur  that  feasts  eye  and  soul ;  here  winter 
is  most  impressive  in  its  drear  and  solemn  majesty. 
Here,  amid  scenery  in  strange  contrast  with  the  inci- 
dents of  his  life,  yet  in  perfect  keeping  with  many  of  the 
impulses  of  his  heart,  returned  to  the  dust  as  it  was 
the  man  whose  career  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
of  which  the  world  has  any  record. 

THE  END. 


THE  ENJOINED  LOVE  LETTEES. 


One  -week  from  the  morning  Mr.  Fisk  died,  the  following  letters, 
except  the  last  two,  were  published  in  the  New  York  Herald  as  the 
ones  over  which  there  had  been  so  much  controversy  in  the  courts. 
They  contain  no  such  important  revelations  as  the  public  had  been 
led  to  expect.  Among  them  are  none  revealing  any  Erie  or  Tammany 
secrets,  nor  could  it  reasonably  be  expected  that  any  such  would 
ever  see  the  light  again  after  once  passing  into  the  hands  of  Peter 
B.  Sweeny.  There  is  in  them  nothing  compromising  any  one  but 
their  author,  nor  him  in  any  way  for  which  he  would  have  cared  in 
the  least.  It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  these  are  the  letters  that  gave 
Stokes  and  the  woman  their  fancied  power,  or  whose  possible  publi- 
cation made  so  many  minds  uneasy,  and  against  which  Mr.  Fisk 
fought  with  such  vehemence  mid  determination.  Private  letters 
such  as  these  are  the  best  reflex  the  world  ever  gets  of  a  man's  real 
heart  and  nature  in  his  best  hours,  moods  and  impulses  ;  and  it  is 
Emerson  (is  it  not  ?)  who  says  that  every  man  has  a  right  to  be 
judged  by  his  best  moments. 

The  first  letter  was  written  on  his  visiting  card,  in  the  winter  of 
1867-8,  and  ran: 
Mrs.  Josie  Lawlor,  42  Lexington  avenue  : 

Come.  "Will  you  come  over  with  Fred  and  dine  with  me  ?  If 
your  friends  are  there  bring  them  along.  Yours,  truly, 

J.  F.,  Jn. 

Have  not  heard  from  you  as  you  promised. 

On  the  back  of  the  card  was : 

Come.  Fred  is  at  the  door.  My  room,  8  o'clock.  After  many 
good  looks  I  found  Mr.  Chamberlain.  The  understanding  is  now 
that  yourself  and  Miss  Land  are  to  go  with  me,  say  at  half-past  9 
o'clock,  and  the  above  gentleman  is  to  come  at  11  o'clock,  as  he  has 
some  matters  to  attend  to  which  will  take  him  until  that  time. 
Answer  this  if  you  will  be  ready  by  half-past  9  o'clock. 

Yours,  truly,        JAMES  FISK,  JK. 


n  THE  ENJOINED  LOVE  LETTEES. 

Soon  after  Josie  had  arrayed  herself  in  silks  and  fine  jewelry, 
wishing  to  dazzle  her  benefactor,  as  Cleopatra  dazzled  Caesar  by 
being  borne  into  his  presence  as  a  bundle  of  old  rags,  from  which 
she  emerged  in  all  her  splendor,  she  called  at  the  Erie  office,  and, 
of  course,  made  a  decided  sensation  among  the  clerks  and  attend- 
ants. It  must  be  remembered  that  Fisk  was  then  unknown  to  the 
public,  had  not  attained  to  autocratic  power,  was  only  a  director 
under  Drew  and  Eldridge,  and  could  not  then  afford  to  disregard 
public  sentiment.  The  next  day  he  wrote  : 

Strange  you  should  make  my  office  or  the  vicinity  the  scene  for  a 
"  personal."  You  must  be  aware  that  harm  came  to  me  in  such 
foolish  vanity,  and  those  that  could  do  it  care  but  little  for  the  in- 
terest of  the  writer  of  this.  Tours  truly, 

JAMES  FISK,  JR. 
5TH  Av.  H. 
Dolly :  Enclosed  find  money.    Bully  morning  for  a  funeral. 

J.  F.,  JR. 

Dear  Josie :  Get  ready  and  come  to  the  Twenty-third  street  en- 
trance of  the  hotel  and  take  me  down  town,  and  then  you  can  come 
back  and  get  the  girls  for  the  Fulton  dinner  to-day. 

Yours  truly,  SARDINES. 

SHE  IS  GOING  OFF  ON  A  JOURNEY. 

Dolly :  The  baggage  sleigh  will  call  at  one  o'clock,  and  you  can 
leave  in  my  charge  what  you  see  fit.  You  have  no  time  to  lose. 

J.  F.,  JR. 

My  people  are  partaking  of  New  York,  in  the  shape  of  "  White 
Fawn"  and  two  or  three  other  different  matters.  I  may  not  be  able 
to  see  you  again  to-night.  If  not,  will  take  breakfast  with  you — 
the  best  I  could  do.  Yours  truly,  JAMES. 

February  5,  1868. 

Dear  Dotty :  Get  right  up  now,  and  I  will  be  down  to  take  break- 
fast with  you  in  about  thirty  minutes.  We  will  take  breakfast  in 
the  main  dining  room  down  stairs. 

Yours  truly,  JAMES  FISK,  JR. 

Wednesday  Morning,  Feb.  6. 

A  NOTE  ENCLOSING  MONEY. 

Have  the  kindness  to  acknowledge.     Yours  truly, 

Feb.  22,  18C8.  J.  F.,  JR. 

GOING  TO  THE  OPERA. 

Dear  Josie :  I  have  got  some  matters  to  arrange,  and  cannot  call 
for  you  until  it  is  about  time  to  go.  I  will  be  there  twenty  minutes 
before  8.  Be  ready.  Yours  truly,  JAMES. 

Feb.  26, 1868. 


THE   ENJOINBD   LOYB  LETTEKS.  ni 

Dolly :  Enclosed  find  $50.  Sleep,  Dolly,  all  the  sleep  you  can  to- 
day— every  little  bit !  Sleep,  Dolly !  I  feel  as  if  three  cents'  worth 
of  clams  would  help  me  some.  Yours  truly,  J.  F.,  JR. 

MONDAY  MORNING. 

I  am  going  to  the  San  Francisco  Minstrels  with  my  family.  If 
Mr.  L.  was  here  I  should  ask  him  to  take  you.  Shall  see  you  to- 
morrow evening.  Yours  truly,  J.  F.,  JR. 

This  is  a  playful  allusion  to  his  having  to  play  the  family  man, 
and  implies  that  it  would  be  in  keeping  if  Josie  could  appear  at  the 
same  place  under  escort  of  her  divorced  husband. 

Dolly  :  Enclosed  find .  I  am  wrong,  but  I  am  bothered.  It 

will  come  right.  When  I  don't  come  don't  wait.  You  shall  not.be 
placed  as  you  was  to-night  again.  Yours  truly, 

"Wednesday  Evening.  JAMES  FISK,  JK. 

Have  the  kindness  to  acknowledge.  J.  F.,  JR. 

Feb.  22,1868. 

187  WEST  STREET,  Tuesday,  Oct.  13, 1868. 

My  Dear  Josie  :  James  McHenry,  the  partner  of  Sir  Morton  Peto, 
the  largest  railway  builder  in  the  world,  Mr.  Tweed  and  Mr.  Lane 
will  dine  with  us  at  half-past  six  o'clock.  I  want  you  to  provide  as 
nice  dinner  as  possible.  Everything  went  off  elegantly.  We  are 
all  safe.  Will  see  you  at  six  o'clock. 

JAMES  FISK,  JR. 
MONDAY,  Aug.  2,  1869. 

Dear  Josie :  Send  my  valise,  with  two  shirts,  good  collars,  vest, 
handkerchiefs,  black  velvet  coat,  nice  vest,  patent  leather  shoes, 
light  pants.  I  am.  going  to  Long  Branch  to  see  about  the  calerye. 
Enclosed  find  $25.  Be  back  in  the  morning.  J.  F.,  Jr. 

ST.  JAMES  HOTEL,  Sunday,  Oct.  18,  1869. 
Dear  Josie :  Enclosed  you  will  find  $143.     Yours  truly, 

JAMES. 

Josie  wished  a  competence  for  life  settled  upon  her.  Fisk  refused, 
and  she  sent  him  a  letter  severing  their  intimacy. 

SUNDAY  EVENING,  Feb.  1, 1870. 

My  Dear  Josie :  I  received  your  letter.  The  tenor  does  not  sur- 
prise me  much.  You  alone  sought  the  issue,  and  the  reward  will 
belong  to  you.  I  cannot  allow  you  to  depart  .believing  yourself 
what  you  write,  and  must  say  to  you,  which  you  know  full  well, 
that  all  the  differences  could  have  been  settled  by  a  kiss  in  the 
right  spirits,  and  in  after  days  I  should  feel  very  kindly  toward  you 
out  of  memory  of  the  great  love  I  have  borne  for  you.  I  never  was 
aware  that  you  admitted  a  fault.  I  have  many — God  knows,  too 
many — and  that  has  brought  me  the  trouble  of  the  day.  I  will  not 


IV  THE   ENJOINED    LOVE   LETTERS. 

speak  of  the  future,  for  full  well  I  know  the  spirit  yon  take  it  in. 
"  You  know  me,"  and  the  instincts  of  your  heart  will  weigh  me  out 
in  the  right  scale.  I  will  give  you  no  parting  advice.  You  have 
been  well  schooled  in  that,  and  can  tell  chaff  from  wheat,  and  prob- 
ably are  as  strong  to-night  as  the  humble  writer  of  this  letter. 
The  actions  of  the  past  must  be  the  right  way  to  think  of  me ;  and 
from  them,  day  by  day,  I  hope  any  comparison  which  you  may  make 
from  writing  in  the  future. will  be  favorable  for  me.  A  longer  letter 
from  me  might  be  much  of  an  advertisement  of  my  weakness,  and 
the  only  great  idea  I  would  impress  on  your  mind  is  how  wrong 
you  are  when  you  say  that  I  have  "  grown  tired  of  you."  Wrong, 
wrong !  Never  excuse  yourself  on  that  in  after  years.  Don't  try 
to  teach  your  heart  that,  for  it  is  a  lie,  and  you  are  falsifying  your- 
self to  your  own  soul. 

No  more.  Like  the  Arabs,  we  will  fold  our  tents  and  quietly 
steal  away,  and  when  we  spread  them  next  we  hope  it  will  be  where 
the  "  woodbine  twineth,"  over  the  river  Jordan,  on  the  bright  and 
beautiful  banks  of  Heaven.  From  yours,  ever, 

JAMES. 

Finding  from  this  letter  that  Fisk  was  not  yet  her  slave  and  that 
she  could  not  gain  her  object,  she  went  to  see  him  and  they  quickly 
made  up  again. 

FEBRUARY  10, 1870. 

My  Dear  Dolly  :  "Will  you  see  me  this  morning  ?  If  so,  what 
hour  ?  Yours  truly,  ever,  JAMES. 

WESTERN  UNION  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY,  ) 
WORCESTER,  Mass.     > 

To  H.  J.  Mansfield,  357  West  Twenty-third  street : 
On  the  3  o'clock  train  from  Boston.    Shall  be  in  New  York  at  12. 

J.  F.,  JR. 

lOrH  OF  MARCH. 

Dear  Dotty:  Enclosed  find  $75,  which  you  need;  do  not  wait 
dinner  for  me  to-night ;  I  cannot  come.  Yours  truly,  ever, 

JAMES. 

My  Dear  Josie :  Enclosed  find  your  request.  I  will  send  to  the 
Fifth  Avenue  for  the  things.  I  cannot  go  to  the  house  as  much  as 
I  would  like  to.  Yours,  JAMES. 

May  6,  1870. 

C.  OFFICE,  May  31, 1870. 
Please  send  me  the  diamond  brooch  and  necklace,  my  dear. 

JAMES. 
AUGUST  1, 1870. 

My  Dear  Josie  :  I  send  yon  letter  I  found  to  my  care  on  my  desk. 
I  cannot  come  to  yon  to-night.  I  shall  stay  in  town  to-night,  and 
probably  to-morrow  night,  and  after  that  I  must  go  East.  On 


1KB   ENJOINED    LOVE   LETTERS.  V 

my  return   I  shall  come  to  Bee  yon.    I  am  sure  you  will  say, 
"  What  a  fool  1"    But  you  must  rest  and  so  must  I.     The  thread 
is  so  slender  I  dare  not  strain  it  more.    I  am  sore,  but  God  made 
me  so,  and  I  have  not  the  power  to  change  it. 
Loving  you,  as  none  but  you,  I  am,  yours  ever, 

JAMES. 

AUGUST  4, 1870. 

Dear  Jotie :  I  found  on  my  arrival  at  my  office  that  the  following 
despatch  had  passed  West  last  night : 

E.  8.  Stokes,  Buffalo  and  Saratoga  Springs : 
Fay  no  attention  to  former  despatch.    Come  on  first  train.  BAKE. 

Of  course  it  means  nothing  that  you  are  aware  of.  But  let  me  give 
you  the  author  of  it  and  my  authority,  and  you  will  see  how  faith- 
fully they  have  worked  the  case  out  after  my  departure  last  evening. 
Miss  Peiris  drove  directly  to  Rane's  office ;  from  there  to  the  corner 
of  Twenty-second  street  and  Broadway,  where  the  above  despatch 
was  sent,  and  from  there  to  Ruilley's.  A  third  party  was  with 
them,  but  who  left  them  there  ?  Bane  and  Peiris,  why  should  they 
need  Stokes  ?  "  Comment  is  unnecessary  " — a  plotting  house  and 
against  me.  What  have  "I  done"  that  Nully  Peiris  should  work 
against  my  peace  of  mind.  Yours,  truly,  ever, 

JAMES. 

P.  S. — Since  writing  the  within  I  understand  a  despatch  has 
reached  New  York  that  he  is  on  his  way.  JAMES. 

Josie,  still  failing  to  secure  the  settlement  of  a  competency  for 
life  upon  her,  has  now  discarded  Fisk  for  Stokes. 

AUGUST  19,  1870. 

Enclosed  you  will  find  $400  for  your  little  matters.  You  told  me 
when  I  saw  you  last  you  would  send  me  your  bills,  which  I  would 
be  pleased  to  receive,  and  they  shall  have  my  attention  at  once. 
Your  letter  would  require  a  little  time  to  prepare  a  right  answer  to, 
so  I  will  answer  it  more  fully  by  to-morow,  when  I  can  look  it  more 
carefully  over.  I  am  very  happy  to  know  that  you  have  acted  from 
no  impulse  in  leaving  me,  but  that  it  was  a  long  matured  plan.  I 
hope  you  have  made  no  mistake.  Yours  truly,  as  ever, 

JAMES  FTSK,  JB. 

NEW  YOKK,  Oct.  1,  1870. 

Mrs.  Mansfield :  There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  authority  of  the 
letter  which  was  handed  to  me  yesterday  by  your  servant,  in  this 
respect  differing  from  the  epistle  which  you  say  you  received  from 
Miss  Peiris,  and  which,  in  your  opinion,  required  the  united  efforts 
of  herself,  Mile.  Montaland  and  myself.  Certainly  the  composition 
should  be  good  if  these  parties  had  combined  to  produce  it.  But  the 
slight  mistake  you  made  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  letter  re- 
ferred to  was  never  seen  by  me,  and  I  presume  Mile.  Montaland  is 


n 

equally  ignorant  of  its  existence,  as  it  is  not  likely  she  troubles  her- 
self about  your  affairs.  I  can  scarcely  believe*  that  she  assisted  Miss 
Peiris  in  composing  the  letter,  and  the  credit  is  therefore  due  to 
Miss  Peiris  for  superior  talent  in  correspondence.  As  far  as  the 
great  exposure  you  speak  of  is  concerned,  that  is  a  dark  entry  upon 
which  I  have  no  light,  and,  as  I  fail  to  see  it,  I  cannot,  of  course, 
understand  it.  I  have  endeavored  to  put  your  jumbled  letter  to- 
gether in  order  to  arrive  at  your  meaning,  and  I  presume  I  have 
some  idea  of  what  you  wish  to  convey ;  but  as  your  statements  lack 
the  important  element  of  truth,  they  cannot,  of  course,  have  any 
weight  with  me. 

You  may  not  be  to  blame  for  entertaining  the  idea  that  you  have 
shown  great  kindness  to  Miss  Peiris  and  others,  and  that  they  are 
under  great  obligations  to  you  for  favors  conferred.  The  habit  of 
constantly  imagining  that  you  were  the  real  author  of  all  the  benefits 
bestowed  upon  others  would  naturally  affect  a  much  better  balanced 
brain  than  yours,  and  in  time  you  would  come  to  believe  that  you 
alone  had  the  power  to  distribute  the  good  things  to  those  around 
you,  utterly  forgetful  of  him  who  was  behind  the  scenes  entirely 
unnoticed.  Can  you  blame,  then,  those  from  whose  eyes  the  veil  has 
fallen,  and  who  see  you  in  your  true  light  as  the  giver  of  others' 
charities  ?  I  would  not  trouble  myself  to  answer  your  letters,  and 
I  do  not  consider  it  a  duty  I  owe  you  to  give  you  a  final  expression 
of  my  opinion.  In  venting  your  spite  on  Miss  Peiris  (with  whose 
affairs,  by  the  way,  I  have  nothing  whatever  to  do)  you  have  written 
a  letter,  in  answering  which  you  afford  me  an  opportunity  of  con- 
veying to  you  my  ideas  respecting  the  theories  which  you  have  taken 
every  opportunity  to  express  to  those  around  you,  and  which  many 
people  have  considered  merely  the  emanations  of  a  crazy  brain.  I 
could  not  coincide  with  this  view,  for  crazy  people  are  not  inclined 
to  do  precisely  as  they  please,  either  right  or  wrong,  and  so  long  as 
they  are  loose  I  consider  them  sane,  and  therefore  I  could  not  put  that 
construction  on  your  conversation. 

As  for  Miss  Peiris  being  "  a  snake  in  the  grass,"'  I  care  but  little 
about  that.  She  can  do  me  neither  harm  nor  good.  I  have  done  all 
that  has  been  done  for  her  during  the  past  year.  She  comes  to  me 
and  says :  "  Sir,  you  have  been  my  friend ;  you  have  assisted  me  in 
my  troubles,  and  I  thank  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart."  This 
is  a  full  and  sufficient  recompense  for  me  for  any  good  I  may  have 
done  her,  and  she  can  return.  If  she  be  a  snake  in  the  grass,  I 
know  full  well  her  sting  is  gone  and  she  is  harmless.  But  what 
think  you  of  a  woman  who  would  veil  my  eyes,  first  by  a  gentle 
kiss,  and  afterward,  night  and  day,  for  weeks,  months,  and  years,  by 
deceit  and  fraud,  to  lead  me  through  the  dark  valley  of  trouble, 
when  she  could  have  made  my  pathway  one  of  roses,  committing 
crimes  which  a  devil  incarnate  would  shrink  from,  while  all  this 
time  I  showed  to  her,  as  to  you,  nothing  but  kindness,  both  in  words 
and  actions,  laving  at  your  feet  a  soul,  a  heart,  a  fortune,  and  a 


THE   ENJOINED    LOVE   LETTEBS.  VII 

reputation  which  had  cost,  by  night  and  day,  twenty-five  years  of 
perpetual  struggle,  and  which,  but  for  the  black  blot  of  haying  in 
an  evil  hour  linked  itself  with  you,  would  stand  out  to-day  brighter 
than  any  ever  seen  upon  earth.  But  the  mist  has  fallen,  and  you 
appear  in  your  true  light.  I  borrow  your  own  words  to  describe 
you,  "  a  snake  in  the  grass,"  and  verily  I  have  found  thee  out,  and 
you  have  the  audacity  to  call  your  sainted  mother  to  witness  your 
advice  to  me.  "  A  dog  that  bites,"  &c.,  &c. 

You  accused  her  of  leading  you  on  and  of  ever  standing  ready  to 
make  appointments  for  you.  The  tone  of  your  letter  is  such  that 
you  seem  willing  to  shoulder  the  load  of  guilt  under  which  an 
ordinary  criminal  f  would  stagger.  I  believe  you  have  arrived  at 
that  state  when  no  amount  of  guilt  will  disturb  your  serenity  or 
prevent  your  having  sweet  dreams,  and  we  still  shall  see  you  crawl 
"  a  snake  in  the  grass." 

How  I  worship  the  night  I  said,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan !" 
The  few  weeks  that  have  elapsed  since  that  blessed  hour,  how  I 
bless  them  for  the  peace  of  mind  they  have  brought  me !  Again 
the  world  looks  bright,  and  I  have  a  being.  You  imagined  I  would 
pursue  you  again,  and  you  thought  I  would  endeavor  to  tear  down 
the  castle  you  had  obtained  by  robbery.  God  knows  that  if  I  am 
an  element  so  lost  to  every  feeling  of  decency  as  to  be  willing  to 
link  itself  with  you  I  will  foster  it,  so  that  it  will  keep  you  from 
crawling  toward  me  and  prevent  me  from  looking  on  you  as  a  snake, 
as  you  are,  and  from  raising  a  hand  in  pity  to  assist  you  should 
trouble  again  cross  your  path.  So  I  have  no  fears  that  I  will  again 
come  near  you. 

I  send  you  back  a  ring ;  and,  were  I  to  write  anything  about  it, 
the  words  would  be  only  too  decent  for  the  same,  were  they  couched 
in  the  worst  of  language.  So  I  say,  take  it  back.  Its  memory  is 
indecent,  and  it  is  the  last  souvenir  I  havo  that  reminds  me  of  you. 
I  had  a  few  pictures  of  you,  but  they  have  found  a  place  among  the 
nothings  which  fill  the  waste  basket  under  my  table.  I  am  aware 
that  in  your  back  parlor  hangs  the  picture  of  the  man  who  gave 
you  the  wall  to  hang  it  on ;  and  rumor  says  you  have  another  in 
your  chamber.  The  picture  up  stairs  send  back  to  me.  Take  the 
other  down,  for  he  whom  it  represents  has  no  respect  for  you.  After 
you  read  this  letter  you  should  be  ashamed  to  look  at  the  picture, 
for  you  would  say,  "  With  all  thy  faults  I  love  thee  still,"  and  what 
would  be  merely  the  same  oft-repeated  lie.  So  take  it  down.  Do 
not  keep  anything  in  that  house  that  looks  like  me. 

If  there  are  any  unsettled  business  matters  that  it  is  proper  for 
me  to  arrange  send  them  to  me,  and  make  the  explanation  as  brief 
as  possible. 

I  fain  would  reach  the  point  where  not  even  the  slightest  necessity 
will  exist  for  any  intercourse  between  us.  I  am  in  hopes  this  will 
end  it. 

JAMES  FISK,  JR. 


Yin  THE   ENJOINED    LOTE   LETTEBS. 

James  Fisk,  Jr. :  That  your  letter  had  the  desired  effect  yon  can 
•well  imagine.  I  am  honest  enough  to  admit  it  cut  me  to  the  quick. 
In  all  the  annals  of  letter-writing  I  may  say  it  eclipsed  them  all. 
Your  secretary  made  a  slight  error,  however,  in  supposing  that  Mile. 
Montaland  was  mentioned.  The  only  prima  donna  I  had  referred  to 
•was  "  Miss  Peiris."  As  you  say,  Mile,  has  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  my  affairs.  I  have  always  respected  her,  and  only  thought  of 
her  as  one  of  the  noblest  works  of  God — beautiful  and  talented,  and 
your  choice — never  referring  to  her  in  my  letter  in  thought  or  word. 
I  freely  admit  I  never  expected  so  severe  a  letter  from  you.  I,  of 
course,  feel  that  it  was  unmerited ;  but  as  it  is  your  opinion  of  me,  I 
accept  it  with  all  the  sting.  You  have  struck  home,  and,  I  may  say, 
turned  the  knife  around.  I  will  send  you  the  picture  you  speak  of 
at  once.  The  one  in  the  parlor  I  will  also  dispose  of.  I  know  of 
nothing  else  here  that  you  would  wish.  I  am  anxious  to  adjust 
our  affairs.  I  certainly  do  not  wish  to  annoy  you,  and  that  I  may  be 
able  to  do  so  I  write  you  this  last  letter. 

You  have  told  me  very  often  that  you  held  some  twenty  or  twen- 
ty-five thousand  dollars  of  mine  in  your  keeping.  I  do  not  know  if 
it  is  so,  but  that  I  may  be  able  to  shape  my  affairs  permanently  for 
the  future  that  a  part  of  the  amount  would  place  me  in  a  position 
where  I  would  never  have  to  appeal  to  you  for  aught.  I  have  never 
had  one  dollar  from  any  one  cite,  and  arriving  here  from  the  Branch, 
expecting  my  affairs  with  you  to  continue,  I  contracted  bills  that  I 
would  not  otherwise  have  done.  I  do  not  ask  for  anything  I  have 
not  been  led  to  suppose  was  mine,  and  do  not  ask  you  to  settle  what 
is  not  entirely  convenient  for  you.  After  a  time  I  shall  sell  my 
house,  but  for  the  present  think  it  best  to  remain  in  it.  The  money 
I  speak  of  would  place  me  where  I  should  need  the  assistance  of  no 
one. 

The  ring  I  take  back  as  fairly  as  I  gave  it  to  you ;  the  mate  of  it 
I  shall  keep  for  company.  Why  you  could  say  I  obtained  this  house 
by  robbery  I  cannot  imagine ;  however,  you  know  best.  I  am  sorry 
that  your  associations  with  me  was  detrimental  to  you,  and  I  would 
gladly  with  you  (were  it  possible)  obliterate  the  last  three  years  of 
my  life's  history ;  but  it  is  not  possible,  and  we  must  struggle  to 
outlive  our  past.  I  trust  you  will  take  the  sense  of  this  letter  as  it 
is  meant,  and  that  there  can  be  no  mistake  I  send  this  by  Etta,  and 
what  you  do  not  understand  she  will  explain. 

NETW  YORK,  Oct.  4,1870. 

After  tho  departure  of  Etta  to-day,  I  wasted  time  enough  to  read 
over  once  more  the  letter  of  which  she  was  the  bearer  from  you  to 
me,  and  I  determined  to  reply  to  it,  for  the  reason  that  if  it  re- 
mained unanswered  you  might  possibly  think  I  did  not  really  mean 
what  I  said  when  I  wrote ;  and,  besides,  I  was  apprehensive  that 
the  friendly  talk  carried  on  through  Etta,  at  second  hand,  between 
you  and  me,  might  lead  you  to  suppose  I  had  somewhat  repented  of 


THE   ENJOINED   LOVE   LETTEBS.  EC 

the  course  I  had  taken,  or  of  the  -words  I  had  penned.  It  is  to  re- 
move any  such  impression  that  I  again  write  to  you,  as  I  -would  have 
the  language  of  my  former  letter  and  the  sentiments  therein  ex- 
pressed stamped  upon  your  heart  as  my  deep-seated  opinion  of  your 
character.  No  other  construction  must  be  put  upon  my  -words.  I 
turn  over  the  first  page  of  your  letter ;  I  pass  over  the  kind  -words 
you  have  -written ;  have  I  not  furnished  a  satisfactory  mansion  for 
others'  use  ?  Have  I  not  fulfilled  every  promise  I  have  made  ?  Is 
there  not  a  stability  about  your  finances  to-day  (if  not  disturbed  by 
vultures)  sufficient  to  afford  you  a  comfortable  income  for  the  re- 
mainder of  your  natural  life  ?  You  say  you  have  never  received  a 
dollar  from  any  one  but  me,  and  you  -will  never  have  another  from 
me,  until  -want  and  misery  bring  you  to  my  door,  except,  of  course, 
in  fulfilment  of  my  sacred  promise,  and  the  settlement  of  your  bills 
up  to  three  weeks  ago,  at  five  minutes  to  eleven  o'clock. 

You  need^iave  no  fear  as  to  my  sensitivenesi  regarding  your  call- 
ing on  any  one  else  for  assistance,  as  I  find  the  word  "  assistance " 
underlined  in  your  letter  to  make  it  more  impressive  on  my  mind. 
That  of  all  others  is  the  point  I  would  have  you  reach ;  for  in  that 
you  would  say,  "  Why,  man,  h'ow  beautiful  you  are  to  look  at,  but 
nothing  to  lean  on  !"  And  you  may  well  imagine  my  surprise  at 
your  selection  of  the  element  you  have  chosen  to  fill  my  places 
(Stokes).  I  was  shown  to-day  his  diamonds,  which  had  been  sacri- 
ficed to  our  people  at  one-half  their  value,  and  undoubtedly  if  this 
were  not  so  the  money  would  have  been  turned  over  to  you,  that 
you  might  feel  contented  as  to  the  permanency  of  your  affairs.  You 
will  therefore  excuse  me  if  I  decline  your  modest  request  for  a  still 
further  disbursement  of  $25,000.  I  very  naturally  feel  that  some 
part  of  this  amount  might  be  used  to  release  from  the  pound  the 
property  of  others  in  whose  welfare  the  writer  of  this  does  not  feel 
unbounded  interest. 

You  say  that  you  hope  that  I  will  take  the  sense  of  your  letter. 
There  is  but  one  sense  to  be  taken  out  of  it,  and  that  is  an  "epitaph," 
to  be  cut  on  the  stone  at  the  head  of  the  grave  in  which  Miss  Helen 
Josephine  Mansfield  has  buried  her  pride.  Had  she  been  the  same 
proud-spirited  girl  that  she  was  when  she  stood  side  by  side  with 
me — the  power  behind  the  throne — she  would  not  have  humbled 
herself  to  ask  a  permanency  of  one  whom  she  had  so  deeply  wronged, 
nor  would  she  stoop  to  be  indebted  to  him  for  a  home  which  would 
have  furnished  a  haven  of  rest,  pleasure  and  debauchery  without 
cost  to  those  who  had  crossed  his  path  and  robbed  him  of  the  friend- 
ship he  once  felt.  The  length  of  time  since  I  had  seen  her  and  the 
kind  words  she  spoke  left  my  mind  ill  prepared  for  the  perusal  of 
your  letter  at  that  time,  and  it  was  not  until  after  her  departure, 
when  I  was  seated  quietly  alone,  that  I  took  in  the  full  intent  and 
meaning  of  your  letter,  and  felt  that  it  was  "  robbery,'*  and  nothing 
else. 

Now,  pin  this  letter  with  the  other.     The  front  of  this  is  the  back 


X  THE   ENJOINED    LOVE    LETTEES. 

• 

of  that,  and  you  will  have  a  telescopic  view  of  yourself  and  your 
character  as  you  appear  to  me  to-day ;  and  then  I  ask  you  to  turn 
back  from  pages  of  your  life's  history,  counting  each  page  one  week 
of  your  life,  and  see  how  I  looked  to  thee  then,  and  ask  your  own 
guilty  heart  if  you  had  not  better  let  me  alone ;  and  instead  of  try- 
ing to  answer  this  letter  from  your  disorganized  brain,  or  writing 
from  the  dictation  of  -those  around  you  to-day,  simply  take  a  piece 
of  paper  and  write  on  it  the  same  as  I  do  now,  so  far  as  we  are  now, 
or  ever  may  be.  "  Dust  to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes.  Amen." 

J.  F.,  JR. 

OCT.  19, 1870. 

Madame :  Enclosed  I  send  you  bill  of  Harris  receipted,  and  I  also 
beg  to  hand  you  $126.29,  being  the  honest  proportion  of  the  Bass- 
ford  bill  which  belongs  to  me  to  pay.  I  should  have  made  the  word 
"  honest "  more  definite,  for  had  not  Mr.  Bassford  to  put  the  dates 
to  the  bill,  as  he  had  received  instructions  from  Miss  Mansfield  to 
have  the  bill  all  under  the  date  of  June  8,  1870,  although  ($146.26) 
the  amount  of  the  goods,  as  bought  by  you  or  your  agent,  was  spent 
at  a  much  later  date.  I  should  not  suppose  you  would  care  to  place 
yourself  in  the  light  that  this  bill  puts  you,  knowing  as  I  do  the 
instructions  that  you  gave  Mr.  Bassford.  I  had  supposed  you 
"  honest,"  but  I  find  that  a  trace  of  that  virtue  does  not  even  cling 
to  you.  I  am,  yours,  J.  F.,  JR. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  FINANCE,  ERIE  RAILWAY, 
NEW  YORK,  Oct.  20, 1870. 

Madam :  You  know  I  would  not  wrong  you,  and  I  would  take 
back  all  my  acts  when  there  could  be  a  shadow  of  doubt  that  you 
was  right  and  I  was  wrong ;  and  let  me  speak  of  the  other  harsh 
letters  I  have  written.  I  wrote  them  because  you  had  wronged  me 
positively,  because  you  had  placed  between  me  and  my  life,  my 
hope  and  my  happiness  an  eternal  gulf,  and  I  felt  sore  and  revenge- 
ful, and  on  those  letters  I  am  now  the  same.  It  would  be  idle  for 
me  to  write  aught  about  them  or  about  us.  When  I  could  talk  to  you 
there,  you  did  not  listen.  I  presume  it  to  be  the  same  now. 

The  entire  connection  is  like  a  dream  to  me,  a  fearful  dream,  from 
which  I  have  awoke,  and,  while  dreaming,  supposed  my  soul  had 
gone  out ;  and  the  awakening  tells  me  I  am  saved,  and,  from  the 
embers  of  the  late  fire,  there  smoulders  no  spirit  of  revenge  toward 
you,  for  you  acted  right,  and  the  wrong  only  came  to  me  from  you 
"because  you  did  not  act  sooner,  and  I  would  not  believe  that  any 
power  on  earth  would  make  any  question  of  money  influence  me  or 
come  between  me  and  the  holy  feeling  I  once  had  for  you.  I  sent 
John  to  Bassford's,  and  they  told  him  what  I  said,  or  he  told  me  so, 
that  you  left  word  that  the  dates  of  the  bill  should  not  be  changed. 
But  what  does  it  matter  whether  it  is  so  or  not  ?  I  cannot  feel  that 
you  would  do  it,  and  something  says  to  me,  this  was  one  of  the 


THE   ENJOINED   LOVE   LETTEES.  XI 

things  she  was  not  like.  So  I  pass  it  by,  and  if  the  letters  of  last 
night  or  to-day  are  not  like  me  you  can  wash  the  bad  act  out  from 
your  memory,  and  leave  but  the  one  idea  that  I  want  to  do  my 
duty  and  fulfil  every  unsettled  relic.  At  least  in  my  heart  rests  no 
remorse,  for  the  memory  is  too  deeply  seated,  and  I  would  cherish 
all  that  is  good  about  you,  and  forget  forever  the  bad.  Of  late  you 
have  thought  different  from  me  (this  may  be  imaginary  on  my  part), 
for  which  I  think  you  give  me  all  the  credit  you  can. 

We  have  parted  forever.  Now,  let  us  make  the  memory  of  the 
past  as  bright  and  beautiful  as  we  can ;  for  on  my  side  there  is  so 
little  to  cherish  that  I  cling  to  it  with  great  tenacity,  and  hope 
from  time  to  time  to  wear  it  off.  You  know  full  well  how  I  have 
suffered.  Once  you  knew  me  better  than  any  one  on  earth.  To-day 
you  know  me  less.  It  is  the  proper  light  for  you  to  stand  in.  It  is 
all  you  desire  on  your  side.  It  is  all  you  deserve  on  mine. 

This  letter  should  remain  and  be  read  only  by  you.  Should  you 
see  fit  to  answer  it  the  answer  will  be  the  same  way  kept  by  me. 
There  has  been  a  fetorm.  The  ship,  a  noble  steamer,  has  gone  down. 
The  storm  is  over  and  the  sea  is  smooth  again. 

Little  ships  should  keep  near  shore  ; 
Oeater  ships  can  venture  more. 

"  My  ship  is  small  and  poorly  officered." 

I  am  yours,  ever,  &c.,  &c,,  J.  F.,  JB. 

P.  S. — I  would  have  liked  to  have  answered  your  letter  in  full, 
but,  as  you  say,  I  have  not  a  well  balanced  brain,  and  I  know  I 
could  not  do  justice  to  a  letter  of  that  kind,  so  refrain,  and  content 
to  let  the  sentiments  of  it  "  know  and  fret  me." 

Oct.  25,  1870. 

"Why  should  I  write  you  again  ?  Shall  I  ever  reach  the  end  ? 
There  comes  another  and  another  chapter,  until  I  get  weary  with 
the  entire  affair.  I  would  forget  it,  and  no  doubt  you  would  the 
the  same.  The  mistake  yesterday  was  almost  the  mistake  of  a  life 
time  for  me.  Who  supposed  for  an  instant  that  you  would  ever 
cross  my  path  again  in  a  spirit  of  submission  and  with  a  contrite 
spirit.  You  have  done  that  you  should  be  sorry  for,  and  I  the  same 
in  permitting  it.  This  cannot  be,  and  I  shall  write  you  the  final 
letter,  and  I  shall  see  you  no  more.  I  told  you  that  much  yesterday 
evening,  and  still  I  write  it  to  you  again.  Yes,  for  the  reason  I 
treated  you  falsely  last  night,  and  I  left  you  with  a  different  impres- 
sion, and  I  would  put  that  right.  You  acted  so  differently  from 
your  nature  that  I  forgive  you,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  bring  my 
mind  to  bear  how  I  could  take  you  back  again.  First,  the  devil 
stood  behind,  and  my  better  reason  gave  way  for  the  moment,  and  I 
came  away,  telling  you  I  would  see  you  no  more.  When  your  better 
character  comes  in  contact  with  mine  we  are  so  much  alike  that 
much  of  what  is  said,  like  that  last  night,  had  better  been  unsaid. 

All  now  looks  bright  and  beautiful,  and  my  better  nature  trembles 
at  ideas  that  were  expressed  last  night.  But  that  I  should  have  left 


THE   ENJOINED    LOVE    LETTEES. 


on  your  mind  an  idea  that  you  could  control  me  is  erroneous.  There 
are  truths  in  this  affair,  and  they  must  be  spoken.  You  have  gone 
from  one  element  and  have  taken  another  (Stokes),  and  for  you  to 
turn  back,  either  when  you  are  situated  that  way,  or  when  even  you 
could  say  that  element  had  gone,  should  make  no  d^  erence  to  me. 
It  was  you  that  took  the  step,  and  you  should  and  shall  suffer  the 
consequences.  Supposing  the  part  you  took  last  night  and  yesterday 
afternoon  was  one  of  truth,  if  not,  and  I  [Here  this  letter  is 

torn]. 

Again,  if  you  was  not  dealing  from  your  heart  in  what  took  place, 
and  I  hope  it  was  not  true,  then  there  are  no  consequences  and  no 
suffering  for  you  to  endure.  Why,  it  has  been  many  a  long  year 
since  I  could  say  to  myself  that  I  had  committed  such  a  folly.  To 
find  another  like  yesterday  would  bring  me  back  almost  to  child- 
hood. To  imagine  that  I  should  have  again  crossed  your  threshold, 
and  crossed  it,  too,  deliberately,  knowing  that  the  same  facts  existed 
that  had  given  me  all  my  trouble,  and  made  me  this  sorrow—  why, 
it  is  devilish. 

I  told  you  that  I  had  passed  the  realm  where  I  had  forgiven  you 
all  the  sorrow  you  had  made  me,  and  that  I  would  not  murmur  ;  I 
would  not  find  fault  with  all  that  I  saw.  I  would  fain  tear  your 
image  from  my  mind,  and  I  will.  Why,  I  thought  all  night  last 
night  and  all  day  to-day  of  your  saying,  "  I  would  rather  be  a  toad," 
&c.,  &c.  Was  that  written  to  apply  to  me  ?  I  should  say  so.  Yes. 
Who  knows  what  you  would  not  conceive  ?  No  one  but  yourself. 
And  I  must  weigh  you  carefully,  for  I  have  nothing  but  a  great 
character  to  deal  with,  and  I  must  meet  things  carefully.  You 
might  suppose  you  could  love  two,  and  perhaps  more  elements,  and 
make  them  hover  near  you.  Certainly  you  did  last  night,  and,  for 
shame,  I  was  one  of  them.  But  it  will  never  occur  again. 

For  once  let  us  be  honest.  You  went  that  road  because  it  looks 
smooth  and  pleasant,  and  mine  looked  ragged  and  worn.  Now,  a 
mistake  cannot  be  found  out  too  soon.  Travel  further  along,  and 
don't  try  to  turn  so  soon.  I  can  see  you  now,  as  you  were  last  night 
when  you  talked  of  this  man  (Stokes)  ;  and  do  not  deceive  yourself 
—  you  love  him.  Yesterday  there  was  nothing  but  the  breaking  up  of 
strong  pride  and  the  giving  way  of  willfulness.  Cling  to  that  one. 
Leave  me  alone,  for  in  me  you  have  nothing  left.  Why  ask  me  to 
weaken  yourself  with  him  ?  All  this  you  must  study  ;  but  I  pledge 
you  to-night  that  I  will  not  countenance  even  your  impression  on 
my  mind  until  the  door  is  closed  behind  him  forever.  For  what  you 
can  gain  from  me  you  probably  cannot  afford  to  do  that  ;  so  let  me 
advise  you  —  nourish  hnn  and  be  careful.  Nothing  is  so  bad  for  you 
as  changes.  He  loves  you  ;  you  love  him. 

You  have  caused  me  all  the  misery  you  could.  Cling  to  him.  Be 
careful  what  you  do,  for  he  will  be  watchful.  How  well  he  knows 
you  cheated  me.  He  will  look  for  the  same.  And  now,  as  I  know 
precisely  how  you  stand  from  your  own  lips,  I  will  treat  him  differ- 


THE  ENJOINED    LOVE    LETIEES.  XIII 

ently.  Although  you  would  not  protect  him,  I  will.  While  he  is 
there,  and  until  his  memory  is  buried  forever,  never  approach  me, 
for  I  shall  send  you  away  unseen.  Ever  be  careful  that  you  do  not 
have  the  feeling  that  you  can  come  back  to  me,  for  there  is  a  wide 
gulf  between  you  and  me.  I  would  not  hold  a  false  hope  out  to 
you.  I  shall  not  trouble  you  more  in  this  letter.  You  have  the  only 
idea  I  can  express  to  you.  You  know  when  you  can  see  me  again,  if 
ever.  The  risk  for  you  is  too  great.  Loving  and  suited  as  you  are, 
cling  to  him  for  the  present,  and  when  you  nature  grows  tired  01 
that  throw  him  off.  And  so  along  until  it  is  time  for  you  to  be 
"  put  in  your  little  bed"  forever,  you  must  rest  contented.  Don't 
begin  plotting  to-morrow.  Take  to-morrow  for  thought,  and  be 
governed  by  this  letter,  for  the  writer  has  much  of  your  destiny  in 
his  hands. 

Despite  the  estrangement,  Josie  could  not  bear  to  let  such  a  man 
slip  away  from  her.  She  continued  to  ask  favors  and  keep  herself 
before  him  by  various  means. 

NOVEMBER,  1,  1870. 

Miss  Mansfield :  I  have  taken  the  steps  for  the  corn  doctress'  re- 
moval to  a  southern  clime,  where  her  business  should  be  better,  as 
vegetables  of  that  class  thrive  more  rapidly  there  than  on  our  bleak 
shores.  I  presume  it  will  take  from  two,  or  say  four  days,  before  I 
get  the  passes,  when  they  will  be  sent  to  you.  Should  she  call  on 
you  say  to  her  to  come  back  in  four  days  and  you  will  have  them 
for  her.  I  sent  you  a  package  by  Maggie  for  what  you  desired  on 
Saturday  evening,  with  a  little  surplus  over  for  trimmings,  which  I 
hope  you  received.  I  am  of  your  opinion  regarding  not  only  Dr. 
Pape,  but  all  of  the  doctors.  You  are  well;  let  nature  take  its 
course.  You  are  in  too  good  health  to  tamper  with  a  constitution 
as  good  as  yours.  This  is  important  for  your  consideration. 

Yours  truly,  JAMES. 

NOVEMBER  10, 1870. 

Enclosed  find  $300.  Please  use.  I  am  very-  sorry  we  could  not 
have  arrived  at  a  more  satisfactory  conclusion  last  night.  I  did  all 
I  could,  and  the  same  feeling  prevails  o'er  me  now.  With  careful 
and  watchful  manner  you  should  look  at  all  our  affairs.  You  should 
make  no  mistake.  You  told  me  I  should  hear  from  you  when  you 
came  to  a  conclusion.  Therefore  I  wait  upon  your  early  reply,  and 
until  then  I  must  of  course  pursue  the  same  course  I  have  for  the 
last  six  weeks.  I  hope  we  shall  mutually  understand  each  other, 
for  the  thing  could  be  made,  as  should  be  made,  satisfactory  to  you. 
I  am  yours,  JAMES. 

Josie  received  $1,000  with  this  memorandum : 

Erie  Railway  Company,  Treasurer's  Office,  November  7,  1870, 
receiving  desk— -$500. 

WM.  H.  B. 


XIY  THE   ENJOI5ED   LOTE   1ETTEES. 

Erie  Railway  Company,  Treasurer's  Office,  November  19,  1870, 
receiving  desk — $500. 
WM.  H.  B. 
Please  acknowledge  receipt  JAMES. 

NOVEMBER  11, 1870. 

Enclosed  you  will  find  the  order  on  Miss  Guthrie,  which  have 
Etta  or  you  present  anddt  will  be  all  right.  Mr.  Comer  gave  them 
an  order  n6t  to  deliver  anything  only  on  my  written  order  to  stop 
the  "  opera  bouffers ;"  but  present  this  enclosed  order  and  it  will  be 
all  right.  Mrs.  Reher  was  here  this  morning  and  I  gave  her  trans- 
portation for  self  and  Michael  to  Charlestown  by  steamer. 

Enclosed  you  will  find  box  at  theatre  in  order  to  get  the  same,  as 
it  was  sold.  I  have  convinced  myself  that  I  desire  you  and  yours 
to  come. 

Please  answer  the  note,  that  I  may  know  you  are  to  come. 

Yours,  truly,  JAMES. 

NOVEMBER  12, 1870. 

Enclosed  find  the  letters.  I  was  not  aware  Miss  Jordan  was  to 
come  until  I  saw  her  pass  the  gatekeeper ;  but  that  is  nothing  as- 
tonishing, as  she  is  one  of  our  regular  customers.  Of  course  I  did 
not  send  her  the  box,  for  she  is  not  in  a  mood  that  I  presume  such 
civilities  would  be  received  from  Fisk,  Jr.  I  am  glad  you  was 
pleased.  I  would  have  been  glad  to  have  you  seen  "  Les  Petit 
Faust."  'At  the  "  Duchesse"  we  used  old  clothes  and  scenery,  while 
in  "  Faust"  all  was  new.  "We  play  "  Faust"  this  afternoon.  Shall 
I  send  you  a  box  ?  And  on  Monday  night  we  give  the  world  "  our 
diamond,"  "  Les  Brigands,"  all  new. 

Surely  the  world  is  machinery.  Am  I  keeping  up  with  it  ?  is  the 
question.  Yours  truly,  JAMES. 

NOVEMBER  14,  1870. 

Dear  Dotty :  Do  you  really  wish  to  see  a  "  brigand"  at  your  house 
to-night  ?  If  so,  what  hour,  or  from  what  hour  and  how  late  should 
I  call  ?  For  I  might  be  able  to  come  at  8,  or  perhaps  not  until  10. 
Say  what  hour,  and  how  kite  is  your  limit  after  the  time  you  first  say. 

NOVEMBER  15,  1870. 

Enclosed  find  box  for  to-night.  Should  you  find  you  cannot  use 
it,  send  it  back  to  me  later.  Do  you  feel  as  I  said  you  would  this 
morning  ?  The  box,  of  course,  is  for  whoever  you  may  invite. 

Yours  ever,  JAMES. 

NOVEMBER  16,  18 — . 

Dear  Dotty  :  Don't  feel  that  way.  Go  riding,  and  to-night,  darling, 
I  will  take  you  to  rest.  I  shall  go  out  at  half  past  3,  and  you  can 
safely  look  ahead,  darling,  for  rest.  It  will  come,  and  we  shall  be 
happy  again.  Yours  truly,  JAMES. 


THE  ENJOINED   LOYE   LETTEBS.  XV 

THE  LAST  LETTERS. 

NOV.   18,   1870. 

Shall  go  to  the  race  to-day,  and  this  evening  I  am  engaged  uniil 
late,  and  I  am  afraid  you  would  get  tired  waiting  for  the  ring  of  the 
bell  or  the  ring  of  the  door.  So  I  will  not  ask  you  to  wait  my 
coming  unless  it  be  your  wish,  in  which  case  I  will  come  as  early  as 
I  can.  Yours,  &c. 

Enclosed  find  the  Leidunnor  Ball.    Yours  truly,          J.  F.,JK. 

MONDAY  MORNING. 
Not  time  to  come  up.  J.  F.,  JR. 

Apocryphal. — From  the  Tribune,  Nov.  25. 
ERIE  RAILWAY  COMPANY. 

JAY  GOULD,  President.                               JAMES  FISK,  JR.,  Treas. 
Office  of  the  Company,  New  York, , 

Dear  Dolly :  To-night  we  play  "  Les  Briggans."  It  is  too  jolly. 
When  you  past  me  at  the  gait  last  night  without  looking  at  me  my 
heart  was  pirsed.  JAS.  FISK,  JR. 

JOSIE'S   LAST  BROADSIDE. 

James  FisJc,  Jr. — Sir :  You  and  your  minions  of  the  Erie  Railway 
Company  are  endeavoring  to  circulate  that  I  am  attempting  to  extort 
money  from  you  by  threatened  publication  of  your  private  letters  to 
me.  You  know  how  shamefully  false  this  is,  and  yet  you  encourage 
and  aid  it.  Had  this  been  my  intention,  I  had  a  whoje  trunk  full  of 
your  interesting  letters,  some  of  which  I  would  blush  to  say  I  had 
received.  If  you  were  not  wholly  devoid  of  all  decency  and  shame, 
you  would  do  differently,  knowing,  as  you  do,  that  when  your  own 
notes  to  my  orders  are  brought  into  the  courts,  your  letters  acknowl- 
edging your  indebtedness  to  me,  you  will  appear  all  the  more 
contemptible  and  cowardly.  You  are  no  sooner  apprised  of  my 
proceedings  against  you  than  I  am  served  with  an  injunction  order 
requiring  me  to  surrender  up  all  the  letters  you  wrote  me  and  pro- 
hibiting me  from  talking  about  them.  This,  indeed,  looks  to  me 
like  a  "  Field"  movement  worthy  the  great  and  distinguished  Erie 
lawyer.  Do  you,  in  your  sane  moments,  imagine  that  I  will  quietly 
submit  to  the  deliberate  and  wicked  perjury  in  swearing  to  these 
injunction  papers  ?  (and  to  the  credit  of  New  York,  I  am  glad  to  say 
you  were  obliged  to  get  them  in  Brooklyn).  Unfortunately  for 
yourself,  I  know  too  well  the  many  crimes  you  have  perpetrated. 
Was  it  not  only  recently  you  bought  over  my  servants,  a  negro  boy, 
Richard  E.  King,  also  my  cook,  and  bribed  them  to  perjure  them- 
selves to  aid  you  in  your  villainy  ?  I  have  the  sworn  proof  of  what 
I  tell  you,  and  more.  You  surely  recollect  the  fated  Black  Friday 
— the  gold  brokers  you  gave  orders  to  to  buy  gold,  and  then  repudi- 
ated the  same,  because,  as  you  said,  they  had  no  witnesses  to  your 


XVI  THE    ENJOINED    LOVE    LETTERS. 

transactions.  There  was  one  I  recollect  in  particular,  a  son  of 
Abraham,  who  had  the  courage  to  swear  out  an  attachment  against 
the  Grand  Opera  House  for  what  was  justly  due  him,  and  how  you 
and  Jay  Gould  ruined  the  poor  victim  by  breaking  up  his  business, 
and  having  him  arrested  and  imprisoned  for  perjury.  And  at  the 
time  you  premeditated  this  crime,  you  well  knew  he  held  your 
written  order  to  buy  gold,  and  you  were  the  perjurers.  You  are 
aware,  in  the  papers  you  served  on  me,  you  swore  to  what  was 
wicked  and  false,  for -it  was  only  a  few  days  previous  thereto  you 
sent  Mr.  Hubbell  to  offer  me  inducements  to  give  you  an  order  on 
Peter  B.  Sweeny  for  my  original  affidavit  and  your  letters  to  me, 
which  documents  Sweeny  got  possession  of,  as  they  compromised 
him  and  other  Tammany  magnates  in  the  division  of  the  Erie  Rail- 
way plunder.  But  I  positively  refused  to  give  the  required  order. 
Knowing  your  doings  as  I  do,  do  you  wonder  I  object  to  you  and 
your  minions  practicing  the  same  upon  me  ? 

It  is  an  everlasting  shame  and  disgrace  that  you  should  compel  one 
who  has  grown  up  with  you  from  nothing  to  the  now  great  Erie 
Impressario  to  go  to  the  courts  for  a  vindication  of  her  rights,  which 
you  refuse  to  adjust  for  reasons  you -too  well  know.  It  is  only  four 
years  ago  since  you  revealed  to  me  your  scheme  for  stealing  the  Erie 
books ;  how  you  fled  with  them  to  Jersey  City,  and  I  remained  there 
with  you  nine  long  weeks ;  how,  when  you  were  buying  the  Legis- 
lature, the  many  anxious  nights  I  passed  with  you  at  the  telegraph 
wire,  when  you  told  me  it  was  either  a  Fisk  palace  in  New  York  or 
a  stone  palace  at  Sing  Sing,  and,  if  the  latter,  would  I  take  a  cottage 
outside  its  walls,  that  my  presence  would  make  your  rusty  irons 
garlands  of  roses,  and  the  very  stones  you  would  have  to  hammer 
and  crack  appear  softer  under  my  influence.  You  secured  your  Erie 
palace,  and  now  use  your  whole  force  of  Erie  officials  to  slander  and 
injure  me.  It  is,  indeed,  heroic,  and  worthy  the  hero  of  the  mem- 
orable 12th  of  July  last. 

I  write  you  this  letter  to  forever  contradict  all  the  malicious, 
wicked  abuses  yon  have  caused  to  be  circulated,  and  at  the  same 
time  fully  state  that  I  am  willing  to  leave  all  matters  in  dispute  and 
difference — and  forever  settle  any  further  controversy — to  our  re- 
spective counsel,  Samuel  G-  Courtney,  Luther  R.  Marsh,  and 
William  A.  Beach.  If  they  cannot  agree,  I  am  willing  William  M. 
Evarts  shall  decide  between  them.  However,  I  only  make  this  pro- 
posal to  place  myself  in  the  proper  light  and  spirit. 

If  you  feel  your  power  with  the  courts  still  supreme,  and  Tam- 
many, though  shaken,  still  able  to  protect  you,  pursue  your  own  in- 
clination. The  reward  will  be  yours. 

I  am,  with  what  respect  you  are  best  able  to  judge, 

HELEN  JOSEPHINE  MANSFIELD. 


COLONEL    FISK'S 
MONUMENT. 

THE  marble  monument 
erected  to  Colonel 
James  Fisk,  Jr.,.  by  his 
widow,  in  the  cemetery  at 
Brattleboro,  Vt.,  was  un- 
vailed  on  Decoration  Day. 
The  Veteran  Association 
of  the  Ninth  Regiment,  with 
the  famous  band,  the  offi- 
cers and  about  one  hun- 
dred members,  all  under 
command  of  Major  Fuller, 
left  New  York  City  the  day 
previous,  and  were  present 
at  the  ceremony.  The 
monument  was  made  in 
Italy,  of  the  choicest  mar- 
ble, and  cost,  with  the 
solid  marble  fence-posts 
and  steps,  about  $33,000. 
The  base  itself  weighs 
five  tons.  Upon  it  rests 
the  body  of  the  monument, 
on  the  four  corners  of 
which  are  life -size  figures 
of  Victory,  History,  Music 
and  Science.  One  side 

bears  an  admired  likeness  in  relief  of  the  deceased 
Colonel.  At  the  base  of  the  plinth  which  rests  on 
this  pedestal  is  a 'grouping  of  immortelles,  while 
further  up  are  garlands  of  laurel  with  ends  tied  in 
the  centre  of  each  side  of  the  shaft.  After  ap- 
propriate addresses,  the  monument  was  elegantly 
decorated  with  natural  flowers,  the  band  meanwhile 
playing  suitable  airs. 


b 


36 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


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